Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Harold Clifton Hearne, Iii

Quentin P Herr

Anna Y Herr

Alexander Louis Braun

Randall M Burnett

Timothy Chi-Chao Lee

Ryan Edward Clarke

Robert Samuel Howell

Robert Miles Young

Marc Eisenzweig Sherwin

Pavel Borodulin

Nabil Abdel-Meguid El-Hinnawy

Non-destructive read out (NDRO) circuits are provided for use in reciprocal quantum logic (RQL) superconducting systems. Each NDRO circuit includes a 'body' circuit that provides a single or multi-state sub-critical bias current to one or many independent 'tail' circuitries. Each &#x201c;tail&#x201d; has minimal effect on the &#x201c;body&#x201d; thereby preventing any interference or destruction to the state of the &#x201c;body&#x201d; circuitry. The circuits reduce device count and thereby increase circuit density, simplify and reduce the cost of fabrication, and provide functionality not available in existing designs, such as the ability to write a state and read it in the same operation cycle. The NDRO circuits provide more compact unit cells useful in memory or logic arrays, demanding fewer resources with increased functionality. The circuits also provide compact cells for AND, AND-OR, A-NOT-B, inverter, multiplexer, and demultiplexer gates.

Superconducting non-destructive readout circuits

One embodiment of the invention includes a reconfigurable circuit comprising a phase-change material switch. The phase-change material switch includes an actuation portion configured to receive a control signal having one of a first state and a second state and to emit a first heat profile in response to the first state of the control signal and a second heat profile in response to the second state of the control signal. The phase-change material switch also includes a switch portion comprising a phase-change material in proximity with the actuation portion. The switch portion can be selectable between a conducting state in response to the first heat profile to conduct an input signal from an input to an output of the phase-change material switch and a blocking state in response to the second heat profile to substantially block the input signal from the input to the output.

Phase-change material reconfigurable circuits

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Baltimore, MD, United States of America

Harold Clifton Hearne, Iii