High-speed testing of Josephson logic circuits by an on-chip signal-pattern generator

Abstract

We have developed an on-chip signal-pattern generator (SPG) for high-speed testing of latching-type Josephson logic circuits. The basis of the SPG is using a feedback shift register, in which the complement output of the last-stage LATCH gate (a D flip-flop) is fed back to the first-stage LATCH gate. Since the SPG consists of only LATCH gates and requires no external input signal, the design and high-speed operation are greatly simplified. We performed a high-speed measurement of the 1-bit SPG and found that the SPG has the potential to operate at a speed of more than 4.6 GHz. We also demonstrated a high-speed testing of a 2-bit logic circuit with the 2-bit SPG up to a clock frequency of 1 GHz.