Stable Josephson reference voltages between 0.1 and 1.3 V for high-precision voltage standards

Abstract

A new series array of 1440 Josephson tunnel junctions has been developed and tested as a reference voltage standard. It yields microwave induced quantized voltage steps up to 1.3 V. The steps are usually stable for more than 5 h with a microwave driving frequency of either 70 or 90 GHz. A high-resolution comparison of a constant voltage step at the 1-V level with the electromotive force of a saturated Weston cell is described. The comparison shows that the step voltage is constant to within ±1 nV over the full step width.