REVIEW 2 major objections 6 minor 1 cited by
Multiplexed readout of Superconductor--Normal-Conductor--Superconductor bolometers
T0 review · 2 major / 6 minor · reviewed 2026-08-12 · deepseek-v4-flash
Pith's one-line read This paper shows that three superconductor–normal-conductor–superconductor (SNS) bolometers on a single chip can be individually and simultaneously triggered through frequency-multiplexed heater and probe circuits, with crosstalk between…
desk verdict First real frequency-multiplexed SNS bolometer demonstration, with solid time-domain evidence, but the crosstalk number is more model-dependent than the text admits. read the letter →
The pith
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
The reading
What carries the argument
The device is built around the SNS bolometer itself: a thin gold-palladium nanowire acts as both the microwave absorber and the thermometer, with a chain of superconductor–normal-conductor–superconductor junctions whose impedance depends on the electron temperature. Each bolometer is embedded in an LC tank circuit whose resonance frequency shifts with absorbed power, and is read out in reflection at a distinct probe frequency around 150–200 MHz. On the input side, each absorber is coupled to a shared heater line through a half-wavelength coplanar-waveguide band-pass filter, with center frequencies at 4.4, 5.8, and 7.6 GHz. Frequency multiplexing works because the heater filters isolate the input channels from one another and the probe resonances are separated by far more than their linewidths, so a single probe tone containing all three carrier frequencies can be demodulated digitally into three independent time traces.
What would settle it
A direct test would be to operate a larger array with the same filter design and the same per-channel heater power: if the response of a non-addressed bolometer to a heater pulse at the resonance of an adjacent filter rises above its noise floor when two or more neighbouring heaters are active, the isolation margin is insufficient. Concretely, for the current device, a heater pulse at f1 = 7.6 GHz with power near the -106 dBm 1-dB compression point of B1 should not produce a detectable response in B2 or B3; measuring a response above the pre-pulse noise level would contradict the claimed crosstalk range.
Extended reading notes
Core claim
The central claim is that frequency multiplexing of SNS bolometers is experimentally practical. Three bolometers on one chip, each with a half-wavelength coplanar-waveguide band-pass filter at its absorber input and an LC tank circuit with a distinct probe resonance, can be actuated and read out simultaneously through shared heater and probe lines. The measured crosstalk between heater channels is between -11.8 dB and -17.9 dB, giving roughly 12 dB of safe operating range, and the probe signals show no measurable interference because the tank resonance frequencies are far apart relative to their linewidths. The authors demonstrate all seven on/off combinations of the three heater pulses and show that each bolometer's response tracks only its own heater state, with leakage more than an order of magnitude below the signal.
Load-bearing premise
The claim rests on the assumption that roughly 12 dB of worst-case heater isolation between channels is enough to prevent false triggering, despite filter lineshapes that deviate from the ideal Lorentzian response.
Editorial extensions
If this is right
- A single frequency-multiplexed probe line can read out multiple bolometers simultaneously, cutting the number of readout lines per channel.
- SNS bolometer arrays can be scaled to larger numbers by assigning each sensor a distinct heater and probe frequency; the authors estimate up to 180 bolometers in the 100 MHz–1 GHz probe range.
- The demonstrated 10 µs pulses and 4–13 µs time constants suggest faster calorimetric readout than earlier devices, supporting single-shot qubit readout extensions.
- The crosstalk level of -11.8 dB or better defines a safe operating window of roughly 12 dB, within which simultaneous excitation does not false-trigger non-addressed bolometers.
Reading between the lines
- If the same isolation can be maintained as channel counts grow, the scheme could replace per-qubit cabling with two shared lines per module, but the worst-case -11.8 dB isolation would need to improve before moving to much larger arrays, since leakage accumulates with the number of neighbours.
- The distorted filter lineshapes suggest that lumped-element or other filter designs could raise isolation and tighten the frequency plan, potentially increasing the number of multiplexed bolometers beyond the current 100-MHz-spaced channels.
- Because the probe circuit is in the lumped-element regime (wavelength > 1 m), the same multiplexing approach may transfer to other thermal detectors such as NIS or graphene bolometers, provided their input filters can be engineered at the desired heater frequencies.
Signed reviews
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. This paper reports the design, fabrication, and characterization of three superconductor–normal-conductor–superconductor (SNS) bolometers on a single chip. The heater inputs are isolated by on-chip CPW band-pass filters centered at 7.6, 5.8, and 4.4 GHz, while the three probe tank circuits resonate at 194, 157, and 180 MHz and share a common readout line. The authors characterize the probe resonances and filter responses, measure time-domain responses to individual heater pulses, and fit the power dependence of the detector response to extract one-dB compression points, from which they infer a heater crosstalk of −11.8 dB to −17.9 dB. They then demonstrate simultaneous frequency-multiplexed triggering of all three bolometers in the eight on/off combinations, with per-channel SNR around 7–8, and discuss the implications for calorimetric readout and for scaling to larger arrays.
Significance. If the quantitative results hold, this is a valuable experimental demonstration: it is the first direct showing I am aware of that multiple SNS bolometers on one chip can be individually and simultaneously actuated through frequency-multiplexed heater and probe circuits with little interference at the chosen operating point. The raw time-domain data in Fig. 4 and the signal-to-leakage ratios in Table II are concrete evidence for low crosstalk at the operating power, and the paper contains useful engineering details such as measured filter distortions, thermal time constants, and operation-point selection. The main limitation is that the headline isolation range reported in Section IV.A is not transparently reproduced by Table I, and the crosstalk is inferred from fitted compression points rather than measured directly; these issues affect the strength of the crosstalk claim and the extrapolation to larger arrays.
major comments (2)
- [Section IV.A, Table I] The quoted crosstalk range of −11.8 dB to −17.9 dB is not reproducible from the stated procedure and the data in Table I. Taking the difference between on-resonance and off-resonance P1dB values as the paper suggests yields 12.0 dB for B3 (4.4 GHz versus both 5.8 and 7.6 GHz), 19.1–21.2 dB for B2 (5.8 GHz versus 7.6 and 4.4 GHz), and 21.9–26.3 dB for B1 (7.6 GHz versus 4.4 and 5.8 GHz). Neither 11.8 dB nor 17.9 dB appears in this calculation, and the discrepancy is far larger than the quoted fit uncertainties. Please state explicitly how the P1dB differences are converted to crosstalk, including any use of fit correlations, correct the numerical range, or replace it with a direct leakage measurement. The statement that the safe range is limited by f1 is also unclear because the smallest on/off-resonance P1dB difference in Table I occurs for B3 at f3 = 4.4 GHz.
- [Section IV.A, Figs. 3 and 4, Table II] The crosstalk estimate is inferred from a phenomenological P1dB fit rather than from a direct measurement of the power leaking through the input filters, and the raw time traces at a heater power of −135 dBm can only establish that leakage is below the detection threshold of those traces; they do not quantify the isolation. For example, B3 has an on-resonance P1dB of −132 dBm, so a −135 dBm pulse is only 3 dB below the fitted compression point, whereas a leakage signal suppressed by roughly 12 dB would arrive at about −147 dBm and might be hidden by the noise floor of the time-domain measurement. The simultaneous multiplexing demonstration therefore validates crosstalk at the specific low operating power but not the general isolation claim near saturation or in a larger array. Please provide a direct leakage measurement, such as the power transmitted to a nonaddressed bolometer's absorber, or quantify the smallest leakage detectable in the time-domain traces.
minor comments (6)
- [Abstract, Section I, Section IV.B] There are several duplicated-word and typographical errors, including “are are” in the abstract and Section I, “Thi” in Section I, and “for for” and “the the” in Section IV.B.
- [Fig. 3 caption] The caption for panels (d)–(f) refers to them as “(a) 157 MHz, (b) 180 MHz, and (c) 194 MHz”; it should refer to panels (d), (e), and (f), respectively.
- [Section III.A and Fig. 2 caption] The text states the probe power is −144 dBm at the device input, while the Fig. 2 caption says approximately −140 dBm; these values should be reconciled or the reference point clarified.
- [Section III.A] The phrase “approximately −125 dB” should read “−125 dBm” to be dimensionally consistent.
- [Section V] The estimate of 180 multiplexed bolometers is presented as if it followed from probe-frequency crowding alone; it does not include heater-side filter isolation, the measured filter line-shape distortions, or crosstalk-induced saturation, so it should be presented as an upper bound from probe-frequency considerations only or removed.
- [Section IV.B, Table II] The statement that leakage is “lower by more than an order of magnitude than the actual signal” is imprecise; Table II reports ratios of averaged signal to pre-pulse standard deviation, not calibrated leakage in dB.
Circularity Check
No significant circularity; the multiplexed-readout claim rests on direct time-domain data, with only a minor non-load-bearing self-citation for the P1dB model.
full rationale
This is an experimental demonstration rather than a derivation, so the circularity burden is naturally low. The paper's central claim—that three SNS bolometers on a single chip can be individually and simultaneously actuated via frequency-multiplexed heater and probe tones with low crosstalk—is evidenced by raw time-domain transmission traces in Figs. 3(a)–(c) and Fig. 4, where each bolometer responds only when its matching heater tone is applied and non-addressed bolometers remain essentially flat. This evidence does not depend on any fitted model or on the prior-work citation. The crosstalk quantification in Section IV.A does use a phenomenological power-dependence model from the authors' previous paper (Ref. [2]) to extract P1dB compression points, and the crosstalk is defined as the difference between these fitted points; this is an operational data-analysis convention, not a circular derivation, because the fitted values are not used to predict the same data and the multiplexing conclusion does not rest on this fit. Self-citations (Ref. [2] for the model and for the multiplexing proposal) are present but are not load-bearing for the experimental result. A separate concern, noted for completeness, is that Table I does not transparently reproduce the reported −11.8 to −17.9 dB range under the stated subtraction, which is a reproducibility/correctness issue rather than a circularity. No step in the paper reduces by construction to its own input.
Assumptions & free parameters
free parameters (3)
- P1dB compression points (9 values, Table I) =
B1: -106.3, -101.9, -128.2 dBm; B2: -114.3, -135.5, -116.4 dBm; B3: -132.0, -120.0, -120.0 dBm
- Probe tank circuit linewidths =
0.61 +/- 0.03, 0.31 +/- 0.02, 0.14 +/- 0.01 MHz
- Thermal time constants =
4-13 microseconds
assumptions (4)
- domain assumption The power-dependence model from Ref [2] describes the bolometer response
- domain assumption The three bolometers on the shared chip are independent and non-interacting at the chosen operation points
- domain assumption Electro-thermal feedback explains the probe power dependence
- domain assumption The CPW band-pass filters provide sufficient isolation despite non-ideal lineshapes
Cite this review
Pith. "Pith review of Multiplexed readout of Superconductor--Normal-Conductor--Superconductor bolometers." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/IN2LP2AY
@misc{pith2026241112782,
author = {Pith},
title = {Pith review of: Multiplexed readout of Superconductor--Normal-Conductor--Superconductor bolometers},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/IN2LP2AY}},
note = {Machine review of arXiv:2411.12782}
}
read the original abstract
Recently, ultrasensitive calorimeters have been proposed as a resource-efficient solution for multiplexed qubit readout in superconducting large-scale quantum processors. However, experiments demonstrating frequency multiplexing of these superconductor--normal--conductor--superconductor (SNS) sensors are are lacking in the literature. To this end, we present the design, fabrication, and operation of three SNS sensors with frequency-multiplexed input and probe circuits, all on a single chip. These devices have their probe frequencies in the range 150 MHz--200 MHz, which is well detuned from the heater frequencies of 4.4 GHz--7.6 GHz compatible with typical readout frequencies of superconducting qubits. Importantly, we show on-demand triggering of both individual and multiple low-noise SNS bolometers with very low cross talk. These experiments pave the way for multiplexed bolometric characterization and calorimetric readout of multiple qubits, a promising step in minimizing related resources such as the number of readout lines and microwave isolators in large-scale superconducting quantum computers.
Figures
Forward citations
Cited by 1 Pith paper
-
Computed tomography of propagating microwave photons
A superconducting bolometer with homodyne interference performs amplification-free Wigner function tomography of propagating microwave photons, demonstrated on Gaussian states at the single-photon level.
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[2]
A. M. Gunyh´ o, S. Kundu, J. Ma, W. Liu, S. Niemel¨ a, G. Catto, V. Vadimov, V. Vesterinen, P. Singh, Q. Chen, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Single-shot readout of a superconduct- ing qubit using a thermal detector, Nature Electronics , 1 (2024)
work page 2024
-
[1]
T. V. Duzer and C. W. Turner, Principles of super- conductive devices and circuits (2nd ed.)(Prentice Hall PTR., 1999)
work page 1999
- [3]
-
[4]
D. Benford, C. Allen, J. Chervenak, M. Freund, A. Ku- tyrev, S. Mosely, R. Shafer, J. Staguhn, E. Gross- man, G. Hilton, K. Irwin, J. Martinis, S. Nam, and C. Reintsema, Multiplexed readout of superconducting bolometers, International Journal of Infrared and Mil- limeter Waves (2000)
work page 2000
-
[5]
M. A. Dobbs et al., Frequency multiplexed supercon- ducting quantum interference device readout of large bolometer arrays for cosmic microwave background mea- surements, Review of Scientific Instruments 83, 073113 (2012)
work page 2012
-
[6]
A. Tavakoli, K. J. Lulla, T. Puurtinen, I. Maasilta, E. Collin, L. Saminadayar, and O. Bourgeois, Specific heat of thin phonon cavities at low temperature: Very high values revealed by zeptojoule calorimetry, Phys. Rev. B 105, 224313 (2022)
work page 2022
-
[7]
G. Gol’Tsman, O. Okunev, G. Chulkova, A. Lipatov, A. Semenov, K. Smirnov, B. Voronov, A. Dzardanov, C. Williams, and R. Sobolewski, Picosecond supercon- ducting single-photon optical detector, Applied physics letters 79, 705 (2001)
work page 2001
-
[8]
C. M. Natarajan, M. G. Tanner, and R. H. Hadfield, Su- perconducting nanowire single-photon detectors: physics and applications, Superconductor Science and Technol- ogy 25, 063001 (2012)
2012
Show all 35 references
-
[9]
Esmaeil Zadeh, J
I. Esmaeil Zadeh, J. Chang, J. W. N. Los, S. Gyger, A. W. Elshaari, S. Steinhauer, S. N. Dorenbos, and V. Zwiller, Superconducting nanowire single-photon de- tectors: A perspective on evolution, state-of-the-art, fu- ture developments, and applications, Applied Physics Letters...
2021
-
[10]
Marsili, V
F. Marsili, V. Verma, J. Stern, and et al., Detecting sin- gle infrared photons with 93% system efficiency, Nature Photonics 7, 210 (2013)
2013
-
[11]
D. H. Andrews, J. Brucksch, W. F., W. T. Ziegler, and E. R. Blanchard, Attenuated Superconductors I. For Measuring Infra-Red Radiation, Review of Scientific In- struments 13, 281 (1942)
1942
-
[12]
K. D. Irwin, An application of electrothermal feedback for high resolution cryogenic particle detection, Applied Physics Letters 66, 1998 (1995)
1995
-
[13]
Irwin and G
K. Irwin and G. Hilton, Transition-edge sensors, in Cryo- genic Particle Detection, edited by C. Enss (Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2005) pp. 63–150
2005
-
[14]
P. Day, H. LeDuc, B. Mazin, and et al., A broadband superconducting detector suitable for use in large arrays, Nature 425, 817 (2003)
2003
-
[15]
Zmuidzinas, Superconducting microresonators: Physics and applications, Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics 3, 169 (2012)
J. Zmuidzinas, Superconducting microresonators: Physics and applications, Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics 3, 169 (2012)
2012
-
[16]
J. P. Pekola and F. W. J. Hekking, Normal-metal- superconductor tunnel junction as a brownian refriger- ator, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 210604 (2007)
2007
-
[17]
Karimi, G
B. Karimi, G. Steffensen, A. Higginbotham, and et al., Bolometric detection of josephson radiation, Nat. Nan- otechnol. 10.1038/s41565-024-01770-7 (2024)
2024 doi
-
[18]
Kokkoniemi, J
R. Kokkoniemi, J. Govenius, V. Vesterinen, R. E. Lake, A. M. Gunyh´ o, K. Y. Tan, S. Simbierowicz, L. Gr¨ onberg, J. Lehtinen, M. Prunnila, J. Hassel, A. Lamminen, O.-P. Saira, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Nanobolometer with ultralow noise equivalent power, Communications Physics 2, 1 (2019)
2019
-
[19]
Kokkoniemi, J
R. Kokkoniemi, J. Girard, D. Hazra, and et al., Bolome- ter operating at the threshold for circuit quantum elec- trodynamics, Nature 586, 47 (2020)
2020
-
[20]
Barends et al., Superconducting quantum circuits at the surface code threshold for fault tolerance, Nature 508, 500 (2014)
R. Barends et al., Superconducting quantum circuits at the surface code threshold for fault tolerance, Nature 508, 500 (2014)
2014
-
[21]
Heinsoo, C
J. Heinsoo, C. K. Andersen, A. Remm, S. Krinner, T. Walter, Y. Salath´ e, S. Gasparinetti, J.-C. Besse, A. Potoˇ cnik, A. Wallraff, and C. Eichler, Rapid high- fidelity multiplexed readout of superconducting qubits, Phys. Rev. Appl. 10, 034040 (2018)
2018
-
[22]
Govenius, R
J. Govenius, R. E. Lake, K. Y. Tan, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Detection of zeptojoule microwave pulses using elec- trothermal feedback in proximity-induced josephson junctions, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 030802 (2016)
2016
-
[23]
Girard, R
J.-P. Girard, R. E. Lake, W. Liu, R. Kokkoniemi, E. Visakorpi, J. Govenius, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Cryogenic sensor enabling broad-band and traceable power mea- surements, Review of Scientific Instruments 94, 054710 (2023)
2023
-
[24]
Ker¨ anen, Q.-M
A. Ker¨ anen, Q.-M. Chen, A. Gunyh´ o, P. Singh, J. Ma, V. Vesterinen, J. Govenius, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Measure- ment of microwave photon correlations at millikelvin with a thermal detector (2024), arXiv:2407.05147 [quant-ph]
2024 arXiv
-
[25]
Simbierowicz, M
S. Simbierowicz, M. Borrelli, V. Monarkha, V. Nuuti- nen, and R. E. Lake, Inherent thermal-noise problem in addressing qubits, PRX Quantum 5, 030302 (2024)
2024
-
[26]
Holm and W
R. Holm and W. Meissner, Messungen mit hilfe von fl¨ ussigem helium. xiii., Zeitschrift f¨ ur Physik 74, 715 (1932)
1932
-
[27]
Meissner, Superconductivity of contacts with inter- posed barriers, Phys
H. Meissner, Superconductivity of contacts with inter- posed barriers, Phys. Rev. 117, 672 (1960)
1960
-
[28]
Deutscher, Andreev–saint-james reflections: A probe of cuprate superconductors, Rev
G. Deutscher, Andreev–saint-james reflections: A probe of cuprate superconductors, Rev. Mod. Phys. 77, 109 (2005)
2005
-
[29]
G¨ oppl, A
M. G¨ oppl, A. Fragner, M. Baur, R. Bianchetti, S. Filipp, J. M. Fink, P. J. Leek, G. Puebla, L. Steffen, and A. Wall- raff, Coplanar waveguide resonators for circuit quantum electrodynamics, Journal of Applied Physics 104, 113904 (2008)
2008
-
[30]
M. O. Thol´ en, R. Borgani, G. R. Di Carlo, A. Bengtsson, C. Kriˇ zan, M. Kudra, G. Tancredi, J. Bylander, P. Dels- ing, S. Gasparinetti, and D. B. Haviland, Measurement and control of a superconducting quantum processor with a fully integrated radio-frequency system on a chip...
2022
-
[31]
Blais, A
A. Blais, A. L. Grimsmo, S. M. Girvin, and A. Wall- raff, Circuit quantum electrodynamics, Reviews of Mod- ern Physics 93, 025005 (2021)
2021
-
[32]
Q.-M. Chen, P. Singh, R. Duda, G. Catto, A. Ker¨ anen, A. Alizadeh, T. M¨ orstedt, A. Sah, A. Gunyh´ o, W. Liu, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Compact inductor-capacitor res- onators at sub-gigahertz frequencies, Phys. Rev. Res. 5, 043126 (2023)
2023
-
[33]
Gunyh´ o, K
A. Gunyh´ o, K. Kohvakka, Q.-M. Chen, J.-P. Girard, R. Kokkoniemi, W. Liu, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Zeptojoule calorimetry (2024), arXiv:2412.14079 [physics.ins-det]
2024 arXiv
-
[34]
Kokkoniemi, J.-P
R. Kokkoniemi, J.-P. Girard, D. Hazra, A. Laitinen, J. Govenius, R. E. Lake, I. Sallinen, V. Vesterinen, M. Partanen, J. Y. Tan, K. W. Chan, K. Y. Tan, P. Hakonen, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Bolometer operating at the threshold for circuit quantum electrodynamics, Na- ture 586, 47 (2020)
2020
-
[35]
R. E. Lake, J. Govenius, R. Kokkoniemi, K. Y. Tan, 8 M. Partanen, P. Virtanen, and M. M¨ ott¨ onen, Microwave admittance of gold-palladium nanowires with proximity- induced superconductivity, Advanced Electronic Materi- als 3, 1600227 (2017)
2017
Reviewed August 12, 2026 · model on record in the stance chip above.
Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.