Abstract: We present recent results showing the development of superconducting NbN hot-electron bolometer mixer for German receiver for astronomy at terahertz frequencies and terahertz limb sounder. The mixer is incorporated into a planar feed antenna, which has either logarithmic spiral or double-slot configuration, and backed on a silicon lens. The hybrid antenna had almost frequency independent and symmetric radiation pattern slightly broader than expected for a diffraction limited antenna. At 2.5 THz the best 2200 K double side-band receiver noise temperature was achieved across a 1 GHz intermediate frequency bandwidth centred at 1.5 GHz. For this operation regime, a receiver conversion efficiency of -17 dB was directly measured and the loss budget was evaluated. The mixer response was linear at load temperatures smaller than 400 K. Implementation of the MgO buffer layer on Si resulted in an increased 5.2 GHz gain bandwidth. The receiver was tested in the laboratory environment by measuring a methanol emission line at 2.5 THz.

Abstract: We present recent advances in the development of NbN hot-electron bolometric (HEB) mixers for flying terahertz heterodyne receivers. Three important issues have been addressed: the quality of the source NbN films, the effect of the bolometer size on the spectral properties of different planar feed antennas, and the local oscillator (LO) power required for optimal operation of the mixer. Studies of the NbN films with an atomic force microscope indicated a surface structure that may affect the performance of the smallest mixers. Measured spectral gain and noise temperature suggest that at frequencies above 2.5 THz the spiral feed provides better overall performance than the double-slot feed. Direct measurements of the optimal LO power support earlier estimates made in the framework of the uniform mixer model.

Abstract: We present new Hot-Electron-Bolometer (HEB) mixers designed for mid-IR spectroscopy targeting astrophysical and geophysical observations where high sensitivity and spectral resolution are required. The mixers are made of an ultrathin NbN film deposited on GaAs substrates. Two entirely different types of the devices have been fabricated. The first type is based on a direct radiation coupling concept and the mixing devices are shaped as squares of 5×5 μm 2 (which corresponds to the diffraction limit at the chosen wavelength) and 10×10 μm 2 (which was used to establish a possible influence of the contact pads on the radiation absorption). The second type utilizes a spiral antenna designed with HFSS. The fabrication and layout of the devices as well as the performance comparison will be presented. During the experiments, the HEB mixer was installed on the cold plate of a LHe cryostat. A germanium window and an extended semi-spherical germanium lens are used to couple the radiation. The cryostat is equipped with a germanium optical filter of thickness 0.5 mm and with a center wavelength of 10.6 mμ. The incident power absorption is measured by using the isothermal method. As a Local Oscillator, a 10.6 micrometers line of a CO2 gas laser is used. We further characterize the frequency response of the spiral antenna with a FIR-spectrometer. The noise characteristics of the mixers are determined from a room temperature cold load and a heated black body at ~600 K as a hot load.