A gate-tunable graphene Josephson parametric amplifier.

With a large portfolio of elemental quantum components, superconducting quantum circuits have contributed to advances in microwave quantum optics1. Of these elements, quantum-limited parametric amplifiers2-4 are essential for low noise readout of quantum systems whose energy range is intrinsically low (tens of µeV)5,6. They are also used to generate non-classical states of light that can be a resource for quantum enhanced detection7. Superconducting parametric amplifiers, such as quantum bits, typically use a Josephson junction as a source of magnetically tunable and dissipation-free non-linearity. In recent years, efforts have been made to introduce semiconductor weak links as electrically tunable non-linear elements, with demonstrations of microwave resonators and quantum bits using semiconductor nanowires8,9, a two-dimensional electron gas10, carbon nanotubes11 and graphene12,13. However, given the challenge of balancing non-linearity, dissipation, participation and energy scale, parametric amplifiers have not yet been implemented with a semiconductor weak link. Here, we demonstrate a parametric amplifier leveraging a graphene Josephson junction and show that its working frequency is widely tunable with a gate voltage. We report gain exceeding 20 dB and noise performance close to the standard quantum limit. Our results expand the toolset for electrically tunable superconducting quantum circuits. They also offer opportunities for the development of quantum technologies such as quantum computing, quantum sensing and for fundamental science14.

Crumpled sheets of reduced graphene oxide as a highly sensitive, robust and versatile strain/pressure sensor.

Sensing of mechanical stimuli forms an important communication pathway between humans/environment and machines. The progress in such sensing technology has possible impacts on the functioning of automated systems, human machine interfacing, health-care monitoring, prosthetics and safety systems. The challenges in this field range from attaining high sensitivity to extreme robustness. In this article, sensing of complex mechanical stimuli with a patch of taped crumpled reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been reported which can typically be assembled under household conditions. The ability of this sensor to detect a wide variety of pressures and strains in conventional day-to-day applications has been demonstrated. An extremely high gauge factor (∼103) at ultralow strains (∼10-4) with fast response times (<20.4 ms) could be achieved with such sensors. Pressure resulting from a gentle touch to over human body weight could be sensed successfully. The capability of the sensor to respond in a variety of environments could be exploited in the detection of water and air pressures both below and above atmospheric, with a single device.