Near-Quantum-Limited Readout for the Princeton Axion Search using a sub-GHz Kinetic Inductance Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier
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arXiv: 2611.06761v1 · Summary page
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A quieter amplifier for lower-frequency searches
Very weak signals need amplification, but the amplifier’s own noise can conceal what an experiment is looking for. A kinetic inductance traveling-wave parametric amplifier now brings near-quantum-limited readout to 300-700 MHz, a range less well served than frequencies above 1 GHz. The device provides gain exceeding 30 dB with pump powers of a few hundred nanowatts; measurements using a variable-temperature noise source put system noise at 2.5-3.5 quanta.
With applications in axion searches, the amplifier is also relevant to semiconductor spin-qubit readout and superconducting detector arrays. The researchers characterize practical issues including gain drift, compression, operating temperature and magnetic-field sensitivity. This is enabling instrumentation rather than evidence for axions: its contribution is to make faint sub-GHz signals easier to measure, although the reported system noise remains above the quantum limit.
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