Josephson RF to RF frequency converter

1. A single flux quantum (SFQ) circuit comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) to direct current (DC) conversion stage;

a DC to RF current conversion stage coupled to a single output of the RF to DC conversion stage, wherein the DC to RF current conversion stage comprises a plurality of series stacked Josephson Junctions (JJs) having n stages configured to convert a DC current received from the RF to DC conversion stage and reconvert the DC current to an RF tone.

2. The SFQ circuit of claim 1 , wherein the RF to DC conversion stage comprises:

a Feeding Josephson Transmission Line (FJTL); and

a balanced inductive bridge coupled between the FJTL and the DC to RF conversion stage.

3. The SFQ circuit of claim 2 , wherein the RF to DC conversion stage further comprises:

an analog RF input current source configured to provide an analog RF input signal; and

a converter module coupled to an output of the RF input current source, configured to convert the analog RF input signal to discrete SFQ pulses.

4. The SFQ circuit of claim 1 , wherein each Josephson Junction of the DC to RF current conversion stage includes a corresponding shunt resistor.

5. The SFQ circuit of claim 4 , wherein:

each Josephson Junction of the of the DC to RF current conversion stage is configured to have a same value of critical current Ic; and

each resistor of the DC to RF current conversion stage is configured to have a same resistance.

6. The SFQ circuit of claim 5 , wherein at least one Josephson Junction of the plurality of series stacked JJs has a critical current Ic that is different from a critical current Ic of the other JJs of the plurality of series stacked JJs.

7. The SFQ circuit of claim 5 , wherein each Josephson Junction of the plurality of series stacked JJs has a common critical current Ic.

8. The SFQ circuit of claim 4 , wherein at least one shunt resistor of the DC to RF current conversion stage has a nominal resistance that is not equal to those of other shunt resistors of the DC to RF current conversion stage.

9. The SFQ circuit of claim 4 , wherein a spacing of a resistance of each shunt resistor is nominally equal.

10. The SFQ circuit of claim 1 , further comprising one or more additional plurality of series stacked Josephson Junctions (JJs) configured to convert a DC current received from the RF to DC conversion stage.

11. The SFQ circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a second DC to RF current conversion stage coupled in parallel to the DC to RF current conversion stage.

12. A method of frequency conversion, comprising:

receiving an analog radio frequency (RF) input current;

converting the analog RF current into discrete single flux quantum (SFQ) pulses;

providing the SFQ pulses to a feeding Josephson transmission line (JFTL);

developing a voltage across the FJTL that is equal to an RF drive frequency of the received analog RF input current times a superconducting magnetic flux quantum;

driving a resulting current from the FJTL down a balanced inductive bridge;

receiving the resulting current by a series stack of n Josephson Junctions;

generating a voltage across each Josephson Junction based on the resulting current; and

each Josephson Junction providing a separate output tone based on the generated voltage.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the driving of the resulting current down the balanced inductive bridge is until a point where a voltage across the series stack of Josephson Junctions is equal to a voltage across the FJTL.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising changing a resistance of a shunt resistor while holding the critical current Ic for each Josephson Junction constant and equal to one another.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising changing a critical current Ic of at least one of the Josephson Junctions with respect to the other Josephson Junctions of the series stack of n Josephson Junctions.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the adjustment of the critical current for at least one of the Josephson Junctions is performed during a fabrication of the at least one Josephson Junction.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein at least one shunt resistor is not equal to another shunt resistor of the series stack of n Josephson Junctions.

18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising configuring at least one Josephson Junction of the n series stacked Josephson Junctions to have a different critical current Ic.

19. The method of claim 12 , further comprising configuring each Josephson Junction of the n series stacked Josephson Junctions to have a common critical current Ic.

20. A single flux quantum (SFQ) circuit comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) to direct current (DC) conversion stage;

a DC to RF current conversion stage coupled to a single output of the RF to DC conversion stage, wherein the DC to RF current conversion stage comprises a plurality of series stacked direct current (DC) superconducting quantum interference (SQUID) units coupled to a flux bias line having n stages, configured to convert a DC current received from the RF to DC conversion stage.