A tunable microstrip SQUID amplifier for the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX)

We present a microstrip SQUID amplifier (MSA) with an octave of tunability for use in the ADMX collaboration. The axion dark matter candidate is detected via conversion to a microwave photon stimulated by an apparatus consisting of an 8 tesla magnet and a cryogenically cooled high-Q tunable microwave cavity. The microwave photon frequency is a function of the unknown axion mass, so the detector must scan over a broad frequency range. An MSA is constructed by flux-coupling a resonant microstrip to a resistively-shunted SQUID biased into the voltage state. We demonstrate a gain exceeding 20 dB with a tunability of nearly one octave from 415 MHz to 800 MHz. Tunability is achieved by terminating the microstrip with a low inductance GaAs varactor that operates at cryogenic temperatures, allowing a variable reflected phase of nearly 0 to $\pi $ at the end of the microstrip, and thus a standing wave tunable from nearly $\lambda $/2 to $\lambda $/4.