Realization of a Quantum Standard for AC Voltage: Overview of a European Research Project

Abstract—The European Josephson arbitrary waveform synthe-sizer (JAWS) project addresses the lack of instrumentation and knowledge for accurate and traceable measurement and genera-tion of alternating (AC) voltage with arbitrary waveforms. The ob-jective is to develop a standard based on a JAWS, a precise instru-ment that links the generated voltage to the Josephson effect, which in turn relates voltage to fundamental constants and frequency. The standard aims at synthesized voltages up to 10 mV, frequen-cies up to 10 kHz and uncertainty smaller than 100 V/V as a first step. This paper reports on the progress in developing the key com-ponents for JAWS. Index Terms—Calculable filter, delta-sigma modulation, Josephson effect, Josephson junction, pulse drive optoelectronics, series Josephson array, tunneling, voltage measurement, voltag