Double-Pumped Kerr Parametric Amplifier Beyond the Gain-Bandwidth Limit
Quantum Physics
2026-01-05 v1
Abstract
Superconducting standingwave parametric amplifiers are crucial for the readout of microwave quantum devices. Despite significant improvements in recent years, the need to operate near an instability point imposes a fundamental constraint: the instantaneous bandwidth decreases with increasing amplifier gain. Here we show that it is possible to obtain parametric amplification without instability by using two simultaneous drives that activate phase-preserving gain and frequency conversion. Realized in a granular aluminum dimer with Kerr nonlinearity, our method demonstrates a sixfold bandwidth increase at 20 dB gain, surpasses the conventional gainbandwidth scaling up to 25 dB, and remains near the quantum limit.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.00078,
title = {Double-Pumped Kerr Parametric Amplifier Beyond the Gain-Bandwidth Limit},
author = {Nicolas Zapata and Najmeh Etehadi Abari and Mitchell Field and Patrick Winkel and Simon Geisert and Soeren Ihssen and Anja Metelmann and Ioan M. Pop},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.00078},
year = {2026}
}