High-Speed Test of a Radix-2 Butterfly Processing Element for Fast Fourier Transforms Using SFQ Circuits

The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is extensively used in image processing, wireless communication, and other applications. Some applications that involve very complicated, real-time FFT processing require specialized hardware for performing high-speed FFT processing. We have been developing high-speed FFT processors based on single flux quantum (SFQ) circuit technology. In this study, we developed a butterfly processing element for FFT processors that uses SFQ circuits. The butterfly processing element consists of complex number adders, subtractors, and multipliers. The circuit structure was modified compared to that of previous SFQ FFT processors to reduce latency. Several buffer circuits were inserted in the multipliers to compensate for timing jitter accumulation and discrepancies due to signal propagation delay. We designed and implemented a four-bit bit-serial butterfly processing element that contains 5763 Josephson junctions using the ISTEC Nb 2.5-kA/cm² standard 2 process and the CONNECT cell library. Correct operation of the butterfly processing unit was experimentally confirmed at a clock frequency of 25 GHz.