Farzad joined JPL as a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow (NPP) in February of 2023. His research is focused on developing quantum-limited parametric amplifiers using superconducting materials with nonlinear kinetic inductance. This technology was pioneered at MDL ten years ago by his NPP supervisor, Dr. Peter Day, and his team. Farzad has been characterizing the performance of the new generation of these amplifiers which are designed for different frequency bands, from VHF to Ka-band. The characterization of these devices includes gain and noise measurements at base temperatures below 30 mK. The prominent superconducting thin films used for parametric amplifiers at JPL are NbTiN and TiN due to their high kinetic inductance and their non-linear response to applied DC and AC power.
The KI-TWPA’s in the microwave band can be used to readout cryogenic qubits and detectors. The Low-Temperature Detector technologies (e.g., MKIDs) that can benefit from parametric amplifiers are the primary candidate sensors for imaging, polarimetry, and spectroscopy for a broad range of astrophysics missions operating in the mm/sub-mm/FIR bands and in the X-ray region.
In the mm-wave frequencies KI-TWPAs can be an alternative to the superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) mixers due to their larger fractional bandwidth and quantum-limited performance. These advantages can be leveraged to improve receiver sensitivity and it would be a basic and relatively low-cost way to enhance the scientific value of any instrument employing heterodyne receivers.
- PhD, Physics, Arizona State University (2023)
- Msc, Physics, San Francisco State University (2018)
- Superconducting Detectors & Devices
- Kinetic Inductance Parametric Amplifiers
- Nanofabrication
- Low Temperature Physics
- Quantum Computing & Sensing
- Observational Astronomy & Cosmology
- NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow, JPL (2023 - current)
- Graduate Research Associate, ASU (2018 – 2022)
- Visiting Student Researcher, UC Berkeley (2015 - 2018)
- Graduate Research Assistant, Lawrence Berkely National Lab (2015 – 2017)
- IEEE Council on Superconductivity Graduate Study Fellowship 2020
The IEEE Council on Superconductivity
The fellowship is awarded annually to a full-time graduate student pursuing a PhD (or equivalent) degree in the area of applied superconductivity, at an accredited college or university of recognized standing worldwide (Award Website).
- William J. and Carol M. Motil Scholarship for Experimental Research 2019 - 2020
Department of Physics, Arizona State University
The award is provided to graduate students who show excellence in the field of experimental physics as evidenced by prior lab work/research in the field.
- Robert W. Maxwell Memorial Scholarship 2015 - 2016
College of Science and Engineering, San Francisco State University
The award is provided to outstanding students in the College of Science and Engineering.
- F. Faramarzi et al., ”Initial Design of a W-Band Superconducting Kinetic Inductance Qubit,” in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1-5, Aug. 2021, Art no. 1800605, doi: 10.1109/TASC.2021.3065304.
- J. Glasby, F. Faramarzi, S. Sypkens, P. Day, K. Berggren and P. Mauskopf, ”Probing Kinetic Inductance Pulses Below the Hotspot Activation Threshold of a Superconducting Nanowire,” in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1-5, Aug. 2021, Art no. 2200205, doi:10.1109/TASC.2021.3065290.
- S. Sypkens, F.Faramarzi et al., ”Development of an Array of Kinetic Inductance Magnetometers (KIMs),” in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 1-4, Aug. 2021, Art no. 2400104, doi: 10.1109/TASC.2021.3056322.
- Faramarzi, F.B., Mauskopf, P., Gordon, S. et al. An On-Chip Superconducting Kinetic Inductance Fourier Transform Spectrometer for Millimeter-Wave Astronomy. J Low Temp Phys 199, 867–874 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-019-02295-3
- Basu Thakur, R., Klimovich, N., Day, P.K. et al. Superconducting On-chip Fourier Transform Spectrometer. J Low Temp Phys 200, 342–352 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-020-02490-7
- Faramarzi, F., De Haan, T., Kusaka, A. et al. Lithographed Superconducting Resonator Development for Next-Generation Frequency Multiplexing Readout of Transition-Edge Sensors. J Low Temp Phys 193,498–504 (2018).
