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Dr. Farzad Faramarzi

Researcher

About

Bio

Farzad joined JPL as a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow (NPP) in February of 2023. His research is focused on developing quantum-limited parametric amplifiers using superconducting materials with nonlinear kinetic inductance. This technology was pioneered at MDL ten years ago by his NPP supervisor, Dr. Peter Day, and his team. Farzad has been characterizing the performance of the new generation of these amplifiers which are designed for different frequency bands, from VHF to Ka-band. The characterization of these devices includes gain and noise measurements at base temperatures below 30 mK. The prominent superconducting thin films used for parametric amplifiers at JPL are NbTiN and TiN due to their high kinetic inductance and their non-linear response to applied DC and AC power. 

The KI-TWPA’s in the microwave band can be used to readout cryogenic qubits and detectors. The Low-Temperature Detector technologies (e.g., MKIDs) that can benefit from parametric amplifiers are the primary candidate sensors for imaging, polarimetry, and spectroscopy for a broad range of astrophysics missions operating in the mm/sub-mm/FIR bands and in the X-ray region.

In the mm-wave frequencies KI-TWPAs can be an alternative to the superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) mixers due to their larger fractional bandwidth and quantum-limited performance. These advantages can be leveraged to improve receiver sensitivity and it would be a basic and relatively low-cost way to enhance the scientific value of any instrument employing heterodyne receivers.

Education

  • PhD, Physics, Arizona State University (2023)
  • Msc, Physics, San Francisco State University (2018)

Research Interests

  • Superconducting Detectors & Devices
  • Kinetic Inductance Parametric Amplifiers
  • Nanofabrication
  • Low Temperature Physics
  • Quantum Computing & Sensing
  • Observational Astronomy & Cosmology

Experience

Professional Experience

  • NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow, JPL (2023 - current)
  • Graduate Research Associate, ASU (2018 – 2022)
  • Visiting Student Researcher, UC Berkeley (2015 - 2018)
  • Graduate Research Assistant, Lawrence Berkely National Lab (2015 – 2017)

Achievements

Awards & Recognitions

  • Professional Society and External Organization Awards | Department of Physics, Arizona State University | William J. and Carol M. Motil Scholarship for Experimental Research. Department of Physics, Arizona State University The award is provided to graduate students who show excellence in the field of experimental physics as evidenced by prior lab work/research in the field. (2020)
  • Professional Society and External Organization Awards | Department of Physics, Arizona State University | William J. and Carol M. Motil Scholarship for Experimental Research. Department of Physics, Arizona State University The award is provided to graduate students who show excellence in the field of experimental physics as evidenced by prior lab work/research in the field. (2019)
  • Professional Society and External Organization Awards | College of Science and Engineering, San Francisco State University | Robert W. Maxwell Memorial Scholarship. College of Science and Engineering, San Francisco State University The award is provided to outstanding students in the College of Science and Engineering. (2016)
  • Professional Society and External Organization Awards | College of Science and Engineering, San Francisco State University | Robert W. Maxwell Memorial Scholarship. College of Science and Engineering, San Francisco State University The award is provided to outstanding students in the College of Science and Engineering. (2015)

Publications

  1. F. Faramarzi et al., ”Initial Design of a W-Band Superconducting Kinetic Inductance Qubit,” in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1-5, Aug. 2021, Art no. 1800605, doi: 10.1109/TASC.2021.3065304.
  2. J. Glasby, F. Faramarzi, S. Sypkens, P. Day, K. Berggren and P. Mauskopf, ”Probing Kinetic Inductance Pulses Below the Hotspot Activation Threshold of a Superconducting Nanowire,” in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1-5, Aug. 2021, Art no. 2200205, doi:10.1109/TASC.2021.3065290.
  3. S. Sypkens, F.Faramarzi et al., ”Development of an Array of Kinetic Inductance Magnetometers (KIMs),” in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1-4, Aug. 2021, Art no. 2400104, doi: 10.1109/TASC.2021.3056322.
  4. Faramarzi, F.B., Mauskopf, P., Gordon, S. et al. An On-Chip Superconducting Kinetic Inductance Fourier Transform Spectrometer for Millimeter-Wave Astronomy. J Low Temp Phys 199, 867–874 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-019-02295-3
  5. Basu Thakur, R., Klimovich, N., Day, P.K. et al. Superconducting On-chip Fourier Transform Spectrometer. J Low Temp Phys 200, 342–352 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-020-02490-7
  6. Faramarzi, F., De Haan, T., Kusaka, A. et al. Lithographed Superconducting Resonator Development for Next-Generation Frequency Multiplexing Readout of Transition-Edge Sensors. J Low Temp Phys 193,498–504 (2018).