Superconductor analog-to-digital converter

A digital radio frequency receiver, comprising:

• an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), wherein said ADC is characterized as being an Nth-order bandpass sigma-delta ADC, and said ADC is absent of active semiconductor components, wherein said ADC further comprises:
• a sequence of stages, wherein said stages comprise resonators, wherein each one of said resonators uniquely pertains to one of said stages, wherein said stages number N, with N being at least 2, wherein said stages and said resonators are being characterized by an order in said sequence, said order having values from 1 through N, and wherein an analog signal to be digitized is being received by a stage having N as said order;
• active superconducting components, wherein said active superconducting components directionally couple pairs of said resonators, wherein said orders of said resonators in said pairs are adjacent to one another, wherein each of said pairs is having a higher order resonator and a lower order resonator, wherein said active superconducting components electrically shield said higher order resonator from said lower order resonator.

A method for converting an electromagnetic analog signal into a digital signal, said method comprising:

• implementing an Nth-order bandpass sigma-delta Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) absent of active semiconductor components, in said ADC:
• applying a sequence of resonators, wherein said resonators number N, characterizing said resonators by an order in said sequence, said order having values from 1 through N, with N being at least 2, receiving said analog signal in a resonator having N as said order;
• providing directional coupling with active superconducting components between pairs of said resonators, selecting said orders of said resonators in said pairs to be adjacent to one another, wherein each of said pairs is having a higher order resonator and a lower order resonator, choosing said directional coupling in a manner to shield said higher order resonator from said lower order resonator.