Patents by Inventor Kurt Pleim

Kurt Pleim has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11942937
    Abstract: Pulse-generator-based reciprocal quantum logic (RQL) bias-level sensors are fabricated on an RQL integrated circuit (IC) to sample AC or DC bias values provided to operational RQL circuitry on the RQL IC. The bias-level sensors include pulse generators having strengthened or weakened bias taps (transformer couplings to RQL AC clock resonators or DC bias lines) as compared to bias taps of Josephson transmission lines in the operational RQL circuitry, or Josephson junctions (JJs) with larger or smaller critical currents as compared to JJs in the operational RQL circuitry. Pulse generators with weakened bias taps or larger JJs can have lower limits of their operational ranges placed near an optimal bias point at the centroid of the operating region of the operational RQL circuitry. The bias-level sensors can be staged by relative strength to indicate whether a provided bias value is an improvement when varied over a range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Charles Ryan Wallace, Max E. Nielsen, Alexander Louis Braun, Daniel George Dosch, Kurt Pleim, Haitao O. Dai
  • Publication number: 20230361776
    Abstract: Pulse-generator-based reciprocal quantum logic (RQL) bias-level sensors are fabricated on an RQL integrated circuit (IC) to sample AC or DC bias values provided to operational RQL circuitry on the RQL IC. The bias-level sensors include pulse generators having strengthened or weakened bias taps (transformer couplings to RQL AC clock resonators or DC bias lines) as compared to bias taps of Josephson transmission lines in the operational RQL circuitry, or Josephson junctions (JJs) with larger or smaller critical currents as compared to JJs in the operational RQL circuitry. Pulse generators with weakened bias taps or larger JJs can have lower limits of their operational ranges placed near an optimal bias point at the centroid of the operating region of the operational RQL circuitry. The bias-level sensors can be staged by relative strength to indicate whether a provided bias value is an improvement when varied over a range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Publication date: November 9, 2023
    Applicant: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: DANIEL RYAN WALLACE, MAX E. NIELSEN, ALEXANDER LOUIS BRAUN, DANIEL GEORGE DOSCH, KURT PLEIM, HAITAO O. DAI
  • Publication number: 20230360712
    Abstract: Shift register elements of a phase-mode bit-addressable sensing register sample varied AC or DC bias values provided to operational RQL circuitry on the RQL IC via clock resonators or DC bias lines. The shift register can be constructed of phase-mode D flip-flops and JTLs as data and clock lines. A method of using the sensing register includes shifting in a data bit pattern while a bias parameter (e.g., AC amplitude, DC value, or phase) is set to a nominal value; stopping the logical clock that controls the shifting of values through the sensing register, varying the bias parameter value, inputting one assertion SFQ pulse or reciprocal pulse pair into the logical clock, restoring the bias parameter to the nominal value, restarting the logical clock to shift out an output data bit pattern, and observing the output data bit pattern to determine the effect of the bias parameter value change.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Publication date: November 9, 2023
    Applicant: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: ALEXANDER LOUIS BRAUN, MAX E. NIELSEN, DANIEL GEORGE DOSCH, KURT PLEIM, HAITAO O. DAI, CHARLES RYAN WALLACE
  • Publication number: 20230363292
    Abstract: Reciprocal quantum logic (RQL) bias-level sensors are fabricated on an RQL integrated circuit (IC) to sample AC or DC bias values provided to operational RQL circuitry on the RQL IC. The bias-level sensors, or samplers, include Josephson transmission lines (JTLs) or logic gates having strengthened or weakened bias taps as compared to bias taps of JTLs or logic gates in the operational RQL circuitry. Sampler JTLs or logic gates with weakened bias taps to AC clock resonators can have lower limits of their operational ranges placed near an optimal bias point at the centroid of the operating region of the operational RQL circuitry. Staging relative strengths of the bias taps of the samplers in an ensemble of samplers allows for outputs of wrapper circuitry to be indicative of whether a provided bias value is an improvement or optimization of the bias value when varied over a range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Publication date: November 9, 2023
    Applicant: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: MAX E. NIELSEN, ALEXANDER LOUIS BRAUN, DANIEL GEORGE DOSCH, KURT PLEIM, HAITAO O. DAI, CHARLES R. WALLACE
  • Publication number: 20230359915
    Abstract: An output-amplifier-based reciprocal quantum logic (RQL) bias-level sensor is used to measure and/or calibrate bias parameters of AC and/or DC bias signals provided to RQL circuitry. The bias signals can include an output amplifier output bias current. The bias-level sensor includes a stack of DC SQUIDs that are supplied their inputs from outputs of respective Josephson transmission lines (JTLs) to which the SQUIDs are transformer-coupled. Staging relative strengths of the bias taps of the JTLs, or the critical currents of the Josephson junctions in the DC SQUIDs, allows an output voltage signal of the bias-level sensor to be indicative of whether a provided bias value is an improvement or optimization of the bias value when varied over a range. The outputs of two such bias-level sensors driven by I and Q clocks can be compared to adjust AC bias amplitudes of the clocks. Relative clock phase can be similarly adjusted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Publication date: November 9, 2023
    Applicant: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: HAITAO O. DAI, MAX E. NIELSEN, ALEXANDER LOUIS BRAUN, DANIEL GEORGE DOSCH, KURT PLEIM, CHARLES RYAN WALLACE
  • Patent number: 11804275
    Abstract: Shift register elements of a phase-mode bit-addressable sensing register sample varied AC or DC bias values provided to operational RQL circuitry on the RQL IC via clock resonators or DC bias lines. The shift register can be constructed of phase-mode D flip-flops and JTLs as data and clock lines. A method of using the sensing register includes shifting in a data bit pattern while a bias parameter (e.g., AC amplitude, DC value, or phase) is set to a nominal value; stopping the logical clock that controls the shifting of values through the sensing register, varying the bias parameter value, inputting one assertion SFQ pulse or reciprocal pulse pair into the logical clock, restoring the bias parameter to the nominal value, restarting the logical clock to shift out an output data bit pattern, and observing the output data bit pattern to determine the effect of the bias parameter value change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Alexander Louis Braun, Max E. Nielsen, Daniel George Dosch, Kurt Pleim, Haitao O. Dai, Charles Ryan Wallace
  • Publication number: 20220357371
    Abstract: One example includes a flux switch system. The system includes an input stage configured to provide an interrogation pulse. The system also includes a plurality of flux loops configured to receive an input current. Each of the flux loops includes a Josephson junction configured to trigger to generate an output pulse in response to a first polarity of the input current and to not trigger to generate no output pulse in response to a second polarity of the input current opposite the first polarity. The system further includes an output stage configured to propagate the output pulse to an output of the flux switch system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2021
    Publication date: November 10, 2022
    Applicant: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Cody James Ballard, Andrew Hostetler Miklich, Micah John Atman Stoutimore, Robert Miller, Joel D. Strand, Kurt Pleim
  • Patent number: 11486910
    Abstract: One example includes a flux switch system. The system includes an input stage configured to provide an interrogation pulse. The system also includes a plurality of flux loops configured to receive an input current. Each of the flux loops includes a Josephson junction configured to trigger to generate an output pulse in response to a first polarity of the input current and to not trigger to generate no output pulse in response to a second polarity of the input current opposite the first polarity. The system further includes an output stage configured to propagate the output pulse to an output of the flux switch system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Cody James Ballard, Andrew Hostetler Miklich, Micah John Atman Stoutimore, Robert Miller, Joel D. Strand, Kurt Pleim