We present our design and operation of a 6-bit quasi-triangle voltage waveform generator comprising three circuit blocks; an improved variable Pulse Number Multiplier (variable-PNM), a Code Generator (CG), and a Double-Flux-Quantum Amplifier (DFQA). They are integrated into a single chip using a niobium Josephson junction technology. While the multiplication factor of our previous m-bit variable-PNM was limited between 2m-1 and 2m, that of the improved one is extended between 1 and 2m. Correct operations of the 6-bit variable-PNM are confirmed in low-speed testing with respect to the codes from the CG, whereas generation of a 6-bit, 0.20mVpp quasi-triangle voltage waveform is demonstrated with the 10-fold DFQA in high-speed testing.

We have quantitatively and systematically investigated the effect of parasitic inductance on rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) circuits by numerical simulation. While a parasitic inductance in parallel to a junction has virtually no effect on the circuit performance, a parasitic inductance in series with a junction significantly reduces the operating margins and speeds of circuits that have been optimized with the assumption that no parasitic inductance exists. To improve the reduced margins and speeds we have re-optimized the circuits for operation with parasitic inductance. While the speeds are sufficiently improved by the re-optimization procedure, the margins do not reach those without the parasitics. This suggests that the parasitic inductance shrinks the operating regions of the circuits and improvement of the margins by changing only the values of the parameters is limited. For further improvement of the margins it is important to employ processes and layouts that minimize the series parasitic inductance.