Dynamics of gate-controlled superconducting Dayem bridges

Journal article, 2024

Local control of superconducting circuits by high-impedance electrical gates offers potential advantages in superconducting logic, quantum processing units, and cryoelectronics. Recent experiments have reported gate-controlled supercurrent in Dayem bridges made of metallic superconductors, mediated by direct current leakage, out-of-equilibrium phonons, or possibly other mechanisms. However, a time-domain characterization of this effect has been lacking. Here, we integrate Dayem bridges made of niobium on silicon into coplanar waveguide resonators and measure the effect of the gate voltage at steady state and during pulsed operation. We consider two types of arrangements for the gate: a side-coupled gate and a remote injector. In both cases, we observe sizable changes in the real and the imaginary part of the constriction's impedance for gate voltages of the order of 1 V. However, we find striking differences in the time-domain dynamics, with the remote injector providing a faster and more controlled response. Our results contribute to our understanding of gate-controlled superconducting devices and their suitability for applications.