Superconducting Cavity Stabilized Oscillators (SCSO)
Microwave resonators constructed from superconducting materials exhibit low losses and therefore, high Q values. Some of the applications of the Superconducing Cavity Stabilized Oscillator (SCSO) systems are
- High stability frequency sources and clocks
- Characterization of phase transitions in quantum fluids
Key technical components of our system include
- Niobium superconducting cavities with Tc near 9K and resonant frequencies
in the 10-20 GHz range and Q of 109 to 1010
- Ultra-High Vacuum annealing system for processing the niobium cavities
- Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) control
of custom-built NIST high stability microwave sources
- Precise temperature readout (sub-nK at 2K) and control (nK at 2K) using
multistage cryostat
and paramagnetic salt High Resolution Thermometry (HRT) with dc-SQUID readout
- Pressure readout of test fluid and cryogenic environment using cryogenic and room temperature sensors