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Development of a quantum-based superconducting radio-frequency voltage standard

Metrology science is continuously transitioning toward a paradigm in which standard definitions of SI units are represented by systems that use quantum mechanical effects to relate measurement units to fundamental constants. This dissertation describes research efforts to achieve this transition for voltage and power metrology at frequencies above the audio range. In particular, this dissertation presents the design and experimental testing of a superconducting programmable radio-frequency waveform synthesizer intended for quantum-based metrology applications. The waveform synthesizer incorporates high-speed active superconducting circuit elements known as Josephson junctions and produces output waveforms with spectral power distributions that are traceable to the values of fundamental constants. This synthesizer has practical applications for calibration and characterization of communications-frequency electronics, and will supplement existing radio-frequency metrology tools that are not quantum-based.