A persistent-current-biased and current-actuated switch for superconducting circuits | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A persistent-current-biased and current-actuated switch for superconducting circuits Ziyi Zhao, Eva Gurra, Michael Vissers, Konrad Lehnert This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8875585/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Broadband and low-loss superconducting switches can facilitate large-scale quantum information processors and cryogenic detectors by dynamically reconfiguring the connectivity of their circuits. The time dependent connectivity is enabled by the nonlinearity of lossless Josephson junctions, which are often wired into superconducting loops to be controlled by magnetic flux. However, this approach needs a power-consuming constant flux bias and dynamic flux actuation, both of which are hard to isolate from other switches or flux sensitive elements, limiting their integration density. Here, we design and characterize a microwave switch that implements a persistent current bias and direct current actuation to reduce static power consumption, actuation energy and potential crosstalk to other devices. We show that persistent current associated with tens of flux quanta is stable and long-lived, reducing the need for on-the-fly tuning. We further demonstrate that our switch has desirable performance for superconducting-circuit-based quantum information processing, including an off mode with more than 20 dB isolation comparable to commercial ferrite isolators, power handling larger than 100 pW sufficient for resonator readout tones and amplifier pumps, and modulation bandwidth broader than 600 MHz useful for multiplexing schemes. Physical sciences/Physics/Electronics, photonics and device physics/Superconducting devices Physical sciences/Physics/Quantum physics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8875585","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":599124482,"identity":"eb48b3bf-0bf8-4254-a9ca-8c2a15f87136","order_by":0,"name":"Ziyi Zhao","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAwElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFAC/gcGEhUMDHwgNg9xWngYCizOMDCwkaTlQ2UbKVrk+88e3HBz3mF5NvYGxgdv24jQwthwLtlw5rbDhm08B5gN5xKjhZmxwcxYctthxjaJBDZpXmK0sDEzmP/+O+ewfZv8A/bfRGnhYeMxMJBsOJzYJgHUTpQWCR62BAOJY+nJbTyJzZJzzhGhRb7/8AEDiRpr2372wwc/vCkjQgsUNDOAAo949UBQR5LqUTAKRsEoGGEAAN6bMatgk0LiAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4455-3224","institution":"Yale University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ziyi","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhao","suffix":""},{"id":599124483,"identity":"70a047ed-d561-49d3-ba37-fd4d75aac2ee","order_by":1,"name":"Eva Gurra","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Colorado Boulder","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eva","middleName":"","lastName":"Gurra","suffix":""},{"id":599124484,"identity":"39ccacd1-2b72-426c-8f40-a82cce7ab69c","order_by":2,"name":"Michael Vissers","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Institute of Standards and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michael","middleName":"","lastName":"Vissers","suffix":""},{"id":599124485,"identity":"6f5a937f-b493-4b71-9882-a51d9160bf8e","order_by":3,"name":"Konrad Lehnert","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0750-9649","institution":"Yale University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Konrad","middleName":"","lastName":"Lehnert","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-13 21:55:29","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8875585/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8875585/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104400747,"identity":"0d196a2a-ca95-4b43-b796-9e1c9a660c13","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:10:54","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3616779,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"maintext.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8875585/v1_covered_4c5a272f-7072-4dcf-b385-e29641aa0365.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"A persistent-current-biased and current-actuated switch for superconducting circuits","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
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