A model study of present-day Hall-effect circulators

Placke, B.; Bosco, S.; DiVincenzo, David

doi:10.1140/epjqt/s40507-017-0057-9

Journal Article

FZJ-2018-01063

A model study of present-day Hall-effect circulators

Placke, B. (Corresponding author) ; Bosco, S. ; DiVincenzo, D. (Corresponding author)FZJ*

2017
Springer Open Berlin

EPJ Quantum Technology 4(1), 5 (2017) [10.1140/epjqt/s40507-017-0057-9]

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/16987 doi:10.1140/epjqt/s40507-017-0057-9

Abstract: Stimulated by the recent implementation of a three-port Hall-effect microwave circulator of Mahoney et al. (MEA), we present model studies of the performance of this device. Our calculations are based on the capacitive-coupling model of Viola and DiVincenzo (VD). Based on conductance data from a typical Hall-bar device obtained from a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a magnetic field, we numerically solve the coupled field-circuit equations to calculate the expected performance of the circulator, as determined by the $S$ parameters of the device when coupled to 50$\Omega$ ports, as a function of frequency and magnetic field. Above magnetic fields of 1.5T, for which a typical 2DEG enters the quantum Hall regime (corresponding to a Landau-level filling fraction $\nu$ of 20), the Hall angle $\theta_H=\tan^{-1}\sigma_{xy}/\sigma_{xx}$ always remains close to $90^\circ$, and the $S$ parameters are close to the analytic predictions of VD for $\theta_H=\pi/2$. As anticipated by VD, MEA find the device to have rather high (k$\Omega$) impedance, and thus to be extremely mismatched to $50\Omega$, requiring the use of impedance matching. We incorporate the lumped matching circuits of MEA in our modeling and confirm that they can produce excellent circulation, although confined to a very small bandwidth. We predict that this bandwidth is significantly improved by working at lower magnetic field when the Landau index is high, e.g. $\nu=20$, and the impedance mismatch is correspondingly less extreme. Our modeling also confirms the observation of MEA that parasitic port-to-port capacitance can produce very interesting countercirculation effects.

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