The capability of a high-temperature superconducting sigma-delta modulator was studied by means of circuit simulation and FFT analysis. Parameters for the circuit simulation were extracted from experimental measurements. The present circuit simulation includes thermal-noise effect. Successive FFT analyses were made to evaluate the dynamic range of the sigma-delta modulator. As a result, the dynamic range was evaluated as 60.1 dB at temperature of 20 K and 56.9 dB at temperature of 77 K.

We fabricated ramp-edge junctions with barriers by modifying surface and integrating ground-planes. The fabricated junctions had current-voltage characteristics consistent with the resistive shunted-junction model. We also obtained a 1-sigma spread in the critical current of 7.9% for 100 junctions at 4.2 K. The ground-plane reduced the sheet inductance of a stripline by a factor of 3. The quality of the ground-plane was improved by using an anneal in oxygen atmosphere after fabrication. The sheet inductance of a counter-electrode with a ground-plane was 1.0 pH per square at 4.2 K.

We have designed a demultiplexer (DMUX) with a simple structure, high-speed operation circuits and large bias margins. By using a binary-tree architecture and clock-driven circuits, multi-channel DMUXs can be constructed easily from the same elemental circuits, i.e., 1-to-2 DMUX, consisting of a T-FF and a 1-to-2 switch. By applying cell-level optimization and Monte Carlo simulation, bias margins and operation frequency of the circuits were enlarged. Logical operations of the 1-to-2 DMUX and a multi-channel DMUX, e.g., a 1-to-4 DMUX were experimentally confirmed. It was also confirmed that the large margins, 33% of the DMUX (1-to-2 switch) was kept up regardless the degree of integration, and that the 1-to-2 DMUX can operate up to 46 GHz by using measure of average voltages across Josephson junctions.

The relationship between the flux-trapping phenomenon and the device-structure of a SQUID has been studied using three types of SQUIDs; a SQUID with a guard-ring, a SQUID with a moat, and a SQUID without these structures. The change in the voltage-flux characteristics of the SQUIDs due to the flux-trapping are measured. For the measurements, an acceleration of the flux-trapping is realized by applying a magnetic field during cooling of the SQUIDs. From the measured results, the SQUID with the guard-ring and that with the moat can reject tha external magnetic field more effectively than the SQUID without these structures. The reason of the difference in the rejection of the external magnetic field is thought to be the existence of superconducting closed loops. However, the flux-trapping of the SQUID with the guard-ring and that with the moat occur more easily than the flux-trapping of the SQUID without these structures for the cooling under the finite magnetic field. Therefore, the moat structure and the guard-ring structure need a higher-grade magnetic shielding for a practical use.