Phase diffusion and noise temperature of a microwave amplifier based on single unshunted Josephson junction

Abstract: High-gain microwave amplifiers operating near quantum limit are crucial for development of quantum technology. However, a systematic theoretical modeling and simulations of their performance represent rather challenging tasks due to the occurrence of colored noises and nonlinearities in the underlying circuits. Here, we develop a response theory for such an amplifier whose circuit dynamics is based on nonlinear oscillations of an unshunted Josephson junction. The theory accounts for a subtle interplay between exponentially damped fluctuations around the stable limit cycle and the nonlinear dynamics of the limit cycle phase. The amplifier gain and noise spectrum are derived assuming a colored voltage noise at the circuit resistor. The derived expressions are generally applicable to any system whose limit cycle dynamics is perturbed by a colored noise and a harmonic signal. We also critically assess reliabilities of numerical methods of simulations of the corresponding nonlinear Langevin equations, where even reliable discretization schemes might introduce errors significantly affecting simulated characteristics at the peak performance.