Correlation of power handling capability and intermodulation distortion in YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films

The nonlinearity of the microwave properties of coplanar thin-film YBa2Cu3O7−δ resonators are examined by measurements of the degradation of the quality factor QL and the increase of the two-tone third-order intermodulation distortion signal with increasing microwave power. A linear correlation between the data of the characteristic microwave powers, which are obtained for the degradation of QL and the intermodulation signal, is experimentally observed and explained in terms of a theoretical model based solely on well-known expressions for the nonlinear surface resistance. Due to these experimental observations and the theoretical model, we conclude, that the degradation of the resonator Q factor and the generation of intermodulation distortion are determined by the same physical mechanism and that thermal effects can most likely be excluded.