Narrow band microwave radiation from a biased single-Cooper-pair transistor

Abstract

We show that a single-Cooper-pair transistor (SCPT) electrometer emits narrow-band microwave radiation when biased in its sub-gap region. Photo activation of quasiparticle tunneling in a nearby SCPT is used to spectroscopically detect this radiation, in a configuration that closely mimics a qubit-electrometer integrated circuit. We identify emission lines due to Josephson radiation and radiative transport processes in the electrometer, and argue that a dissipative superconducting electrometer can severely disrupt the system it attempts to measure.