Doppler-induced tunable and shape-preserving frequency conversion of microwave wave packets

Abstract: In superconducting electronics, the ability to control the frequency of microwave wave packets is crucial for several applications, such as the operation of superconducting quantum processors and the readout of superconducting sensors. We introduce a new approach to microwave frequency conversion harnessing a dynamic Doppler effect induced by a propagating front separating regions of different phase velocities. Employing a high-kinetic-inductance superconducting transmission line in a travelling-wave geometry, we were able to implement frequency shifts of microwave wave packets at 500 MHz and 4 GHz of up to 3.7 % while fully preserving their temporal shape. In contrast to conventional methods based on frequency-mixing, our Doppler-induced frequency-conversion method avoids spurious mixing products, is continuously tunable by a quasi-dc current amplitude, and allows to imprint arbitrary patterns on the instantaneous frequency profile of temporally long wave packets. By engineering transmission lines that allow for larger phase-velocity changes and/or by cascading multiple Doppler-induced frequency conversions, an unlimited amount of frequency shifting is in principle attainable. These features demonstrate the potential of our frequency-conversion technique as a promising tool for advanced control of microwave wave packets for different quantum applications.