Abstract: The topic of superconductivity in strongly disordered materials has attracted significant attention. These materials appear to be rather promising for fabrication of various nanoscale devices such as bolometers and transition edge sensors of electromagnetic radiation. The vividly debated subject of intrinsic spatial inhomogeneity responsible for the non-Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer relation between the superconducting gap and the pairing potential is crucial both for understanding the fundamental issues of superconductivity in highly disordered superconductors, and for the operation of corresponding nanoelectronic devices. Here we report an experimental study of the electron transport properties of narrow NbN nanowires with effective cross sections of the order of the debated inhomogeneity scales. The temperature dependence of the critical current follows the textbook Ginzburg-Landau prediction for the quasi-one-dimensional superconducting channel I c approximately (1-T/T c)(3/2). We find that conventional models based on the the phase slip mechanism provide reasonable fits for the shape of R(T) transitions. Better agreement with R(T) data can be achieved assuming the existence of short 'weak links' with slightly reduced local critical temperature T c. Hence, one may conclude that an 'exotic' intrinsic electronic inhomogeneity either does not exist in our structures, or, if it does exist, it does not affect their resistive state properties, or does not provide any specific impact distinguishable from conventional weak links.

Abstract: The thermal boundary resistance at the YBaCuO thin film/Al2O3 substrate interface was investigated. The transparency for thermal phonons incident on the interface as well as for phonons moving from the substrate was determined. We have measured a transient voltage response of current-biased films to continuously modulated radiation. The observed knee in the modulation frequency dependence of the response reflects the crossover from the diffusion regime to the contact resistance regime of the heat transfer across the interface. The values of transparency were independently deduced both from the phonon escape time and from the time of phonon return to the film which were identified with peculiarities in the frequency dependence. The results are much more consistent with the acoustic mismatch theory than the diffuse mismatch model.

Abstract: The study of the electron-phonon interaction in thin (20 nm) NbC films with electron mean free path l=2-13 nm gives an evidence that electron scattering is significantly modified due to the interference between electron-phonon and elastic electron scattering from impurities. The interference ~T^2-term, which is proportional to the residual resistivity, dominates over the Bloch-Grüneisen contribution to resistivity at low temperatures up to 60 K. The electron energy relaxation rate is directly measured via the relaxation of hot electrons heated by modulated electromagnetic radiation. In the temperature range 1.5 – 10 K the relaxation rate shows a weak dependence on the electron mean free path and strong temperature dependence T^n with the exponent n = 2.5-3. This behaviour is well explained by the theory of the electron-phonon-impurity interference taking into account the electron coupling with transverse phonons determined from the resistivity data.

Abstract: The spectrum of hole resonances in pure p-Ge for submillimetre in quantizing magnetic fields has been studied and identified. Measurements of photoconductivity spectra of p-Ge were made in the wave range lambda = 2-0.3 mm at temp. of 4.2-15 deg K in magnetic fields H up to 40 Measurements at various frequencies showed that the position of a series of characteristic resonances depends on the frequency of the illumination. This is in line with theoretical conclusions about the effective mass of the carriers increasing with rise in the magnetic field as a result of the interaction of the edge of the valency band with the split spin-orbital interaction of the sub 7 exp + band and the conduction band. The relative intensity of the quantum resonance lines of the free holes depends on the excitation conditions.

Abstract: The results of experimental investigation of fast-action 5HF-limiter are presented; the limiter is based on the utilization of electron hetaing phenomenon in thin superconducting films. The design of SHF-limiter, which is intended for operation at liquid helium temperatures and which has the form of a section of superconducting NbN microstrip line for 1-12 GHz rang, is described.

Abstract: The possibility is considered of carrying out submillimeter-wave spectral investigations of semiconductors by means of a high resolution spectrometer with backward-wave tubes. Results of a study of the excitation spectra of small impurities, D-(A +) centers and free excitons in germanium are presented.

Abstract: The performance of NbN based phonon-cooled Hot Electron Bolometric (HEB) quasioptical mixers is investigated in the 0.7-3.1 THz frequency range. The devices are made from a 3.5-4 nm thick NbN film on high resistivity Si and integrated with a planar spiral antenna on the same substrate. The length of the bolometer microbridge is 0.1- 0.2 gm, the width is 1-2 gm. The best results of the DSB receiver noise temperature measured at 1.5 GHz intermediate frequency are: 800 K at 0.7 THz, 1100 K at 1.6 THz, 2000 K at 2.5 THz and 4200 K at 3.1 THz. The measurements were performed with a far infrared laser as the local oscillator (LO) source. The estimated LO power required is less than 500 nW at the receiver input. First results on the spiral antenna polarization measurements are reported.

Abstract: The paper reports progress on the design and development of niobium-nitride, superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) for ultrafast counting of near-infrared photons for secure quantum communications. The SSPDs operate in the quantum detection mode, based on photon-induced hotspot formation and subsequent appearance of a transient resistive barrier across an ultrathin and submicron-width superconducting stripe. The devices are fabricated from 3.5 nm thick NbN films and kept at cryogenic (liquid helium) temperatures inside a cryostat. The detector experimental quantum efficiency in the photon-counting mode reaches above 20% in the visible radiation range and up to 10% at the 1.3–1.55 μn infrared range. The dark counts are below 0.01 per second. The measured real-time counting rate is above 2 GHz and is limited by readout electronics (the intrinsic response time is below 30 ps). The SSPD jitter is below 18 ps, and the best-measured value of the noise-equivalent power (NEP) is 2 × 10−18 W/Hz1/2. at 1.3 μm. In terms of photon-counting efficiency and speed, these NbN SSPDs significantly outperform semiconductor avalanche photodiodes and photomultipliers.