Superconducting parametric amplifiers play a crucial role in the preparation and readout of quantum states at microwave frequencies, enabling high-fidelity measurements of superconducting qubits. Most existing implementations of these amplifiers rely on the nonlinearity from Josephson junctions, superconducting quantum interference devices, or disordered superconductors. Additionally, frequency tunability arises typically from either flux or current biasing. In contrast, semiconductor-based parametric amplifiers are tunable by local electric fields, which impose a smaller thermal load on the cryogenic setup than current and flux biasing and lead to vanishing crosstalk to other on-chip quantum systems. In this work, we present a gate-tunable parametric amplifier that operates without Josephson junctions, using a proximitized semiconducting nanowire. This design achieves near-quantum-limited performance, featuring more than 20-dB gain and a 30-MHz gain-bandwidth product. The absence of Josephson junctions results in advantages, including substantial saturation powers of $-120$ dBm, magnetic field compatibility up to $500\mathrm{mT}$, and frequency tunability over a range of 15 MHz. Our realization of a parametric amplifier supplements efforts towards gate-controlled superconducting electronics, further advancing the abilities for high-performing quantum measurements of semiconductor-based and superconducting quantum devices.

• Received 20 August 2023
• Revised 29 October 2023
• Accepted 18 December 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.21.014052