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Author (down) Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G.
Title Gap frequency and photon absorption in a hot electron bolometer Type Conference Article
Year 2016 Publication Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue Pages 121
Keywords NbN HEB; Si membrane
Abstract The superconducting energy gap is a crucial parameter of a superconductor when used in mixing applications. In the case of the SIS mixer, the mixing process is efficient for frequencies below the energy gap, whereas, in the case of the HEB mixer, the mixing process is most efficient at frequencies above the gap, where photon absorption takes place more readily. We have investigated the photon absorption phenomenon around the gap frequency of HEB mixers based on NbN films deposited on silicon membranes. Apart from studying the pumped I-V curves of HEB devices, we have also probed them with microwave radiation, as previously described [1]. At frequencies far below the gap frequency, the pumped I-V curves show abrupt switching between the superconducting and resistive states. For the NbN HEB mixers we tested, which have critical temperatures of ~9 K, this is true for frequencies below about 400 GHz. As the pump frequency is increased beyond 400 GHz, the resistive state extends towards zero bias and at some point a small region of negative differential resistance appears close to zero bias. In this region, the microwave probe reveals that the device impedance is changing randomly with time. As the pump frequency is further increased, this random impedance change develops into relaxation oscillations, which can be observed by the demodulation of the reflected microwave probe. Initially, these oscillations take the form of several frequencies grouped together under an envelope. As we approach the gap frequency, the multiple frequency relaxation oscillations coalesce into a single frequency of a few MHz. The resultant square-wave nature of the oscillation is a clear indication that the device is in a bi-stable state, switching between the superconducting and normal state. Above the gap frequency, it is possible to obtain a pumped I-V curve with no negative differential resistance above a threshold pumping level. Below this pumping level, the device demonstrates bi-stability, and regular relaxation oscillation at a few MHz is observed as a function of pump power. The threshold pumping level is clearly related to the amount of power absorbed by the device and its phonon cooling. From the above experiment, we can derive the gap frequency of the NbN film, which is 585 GHz for our 6 μm thin silicon membrane-based device. We also confirm that the HEB mixer is not an efficient photon absorber for radiation below the gap frequency. 1. A. Trifonov et al., “Probing the stability of HEB mixers with microwave injection”, IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., vol. 25, no. 3, June 2015.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1204
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Author (down) Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G.
Title Photon absorption near the gap frequency in a hot electron bolometer Type Journal Article
Year 2017 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 27 Issue 4 Pages 1-4
Keywords NBN HEB mixer
Abstract The superconducting energy gap is a fundamental characteristic of a superconducting film, which, together with the applied pump power and the biasing setup, defines the instantaneous resistive state of the Hot Electron Bolometer (HEB) mixer at any given bias point on the I-V curve. In this paper we report on a series of experiments, in which we subjected the HEB to radiation over a wide frequency range along with parallel microwave injection. We have observed three distinct regimes of operation of the HEB, depending on whether the radiation is above the gap frequency, far below it or close to it. These regimes are driven by the different patterns of photon absorption. The experiments have allowed us to derive the approximate gap frequency of the device under test as about 585 GHz. Microwave injection was used to probe the HEB impedance. Spontaneous switching between the superconducting (low resistive) state and a quasi-normal (high resistive) state was observed. The switching pattern depends on the particular regime of HEB operation and can assume a random pattern at pump frequencies below the gap to a regular relaxation oscillation running at a few MHz when pumped above the gap.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1558-2515 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1331
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Author (down) Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Grimes, P.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G.
Title Development of A Silicon Membrane-based Multi-pixel Hot Electron Bolometer Receiver Type Conference Article
Year 2017 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 27 Issue 4 Pages 6
Keywords Multi-pixel, HEB, silicon-on-insulator, horn array
Abstract We report on the development of a multi-pixel

Hot Electron Bolometer (HEB) receiver fabricated using

silicon membrane technology. The receiver comprises a

2 × 2 array of four HEB mixers, fabricated on a single

chip. The HEB mixer chip is based on a superconducting

NbN thin film deposited on top of the silicon-on-insulator

(SOI) substrate. The thicknesses of the device layer and

handling layer of the SOI substrate are 20 μm and 300 μm

respectively. The thickness of the device layer is chosen

such that it corresponds to a quarter-wave in silicon at

1.35 THz. The HEB mixer is integrated with a bow-tie

antenna structure, in turn designed for coupling to a

circular waveguide,
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number RPLAB @ kovalyuk @ Serial 1111
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Author (down) Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Grimes, P.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G.
Title Development of a silicon membrane-based multipixel hot electron bolometer receiver Type Journal Article
Year 2017 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 27 Issue 4 Pages 1-5
Keywords Multi-pixel, NbN HEB, silicon-on-insulator, horn array
Abstract We report on the development of a multipixel hot electron bolometer (HEB) receiver fabricated using silicon membrane technology. The receiver comprises a 2 × 2 array of four HEB mixers, fabricated on a single chip. The HEB mixer chip is based on a superconducting NbN thin-film deposited on top of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. The thicknesses of the device layer and handling layer of the SOI substrate are 20 and 300 μm, respectively. The thickness of the device layer is chosen such that it corresponds to a quarter-wave in silicon at 1.35 THz. The HEB mixer is integrated with a bow-tie antenna structure, in turn designed for coupling to a circular waveguide, fed by a monolithic drilled smooth-walled horn array.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1324
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Author (down) Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Ryabchun, S.; Gol'tsman, G.
Title Probing the stability of HEB mixers with microwave injection Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 2300404 (1 to 4)
Keywords NbN HEB mixer, stability, Allan-variance
Abstract Using a microwave probe as a tool, we have performed experiments aimed at understanding the origin of the output-power fluctuations in hot-electron-bolometer (HEB) mixers. We use a probe frequency of 1.5 GHz. The microwave probe picks up impedance changes of the HEB, which are examined upon demodulation of the reflected wave outside the cryostat. This study shows that the HEB mixer operates in two different regimes under a terahertz pump. At a low pumping level, strong pulse modulation is observed, as the device switches between the superconducting state and the normal state at a rate of a few megahertz. When pumped much harder, to approximate the low-noise mixer operating point, residual modulation can still be observed, showing that the HEB mixer is intrinsically unstable even in the resistive state. Based on these observations, we introduced a low-frequency termination to the HEB mixer. By terminating the device in a 50-Ω resistor in the megahertz frequency range, we have been able to improve the output-power Allan time of our HEB receiver by a factor of four to about 10 s for a detection bandwidth of 15 MHz, with a corresponding gain fluctuation of about 0.035%.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1355
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Author (down) Tong, C.-Y.E.; Meledin, D.V.; Marrone, D.P.; Paine, S.N.; Gibson, H.; Blundell, R.
Title Near field vector beam measurements at 1 THz Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication IEEE Microw. Compon. Lett. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 13 Issue 6 Pages 235-237
Keywords HEB, mixer, waveguide, LO power, local oscillator power, saturation effect, dynamic range
Abstract We have performed near-field vector beam measurements at 1.03 THz to characterize and align the receiver optics of a superconducting receiver. The signal source is a harmonic generator mounted on an X-Y translation stage. We model the measured two-dimensional complex beam pattern by a fundamental Gaussian mode, from which we derive the position of the beam center, the beam radius and the direction of propagation. By performing scans in the planes separated by 400 mm, we have confirmed that our beam pattern measurements are highly reliable.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1531-1309 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number RPLAB @ lobanovyury @ Serial 574
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Author (down) Tong, C.-Y. E.; Trifonov, A.; Shurakov, A.; Blundell, R.; Gol’tsman, G.
Title A microwave-operated hot-electron-bolometric power detector for terahertz radiation Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 2300604 (1 to 4)
Keywords NbN HEB mixer
Abstract A new class of microwave-operated THz power detectors based on the NbN hot-electron-bolometer (HEB) mixer is proposed. The injected microwave signal ( 1 GHz) serves the dual purpose of pumping the HEB element and enabling the read-out of the internal state of the device. A cryogenic amplifier amplifies the reflected microwave signal from the device and a homodyne scheme recovers the effects of the incident THz radiation. Two modes of operation have been identified, depending on the level of incident radiation. For weak signals, we use a chopper to chop the incident radiation against a black body reference and a lock-in amplifier to perform synchronous detection of the homodyne readout. The voltage measured is proportional to the incident power, and we estimate an optical noise equivalent power of  5pW/ √Hz at 0.83 THz. At higher signal levels, the homodyne circuit recovers the stream of steady relaxation oscillation pulses from the HEB device. The frequency of these pulses is in the MHz frequency range and bears a linear relationship with the incident THz radiation over an input power range of  15 dB. A digital frequency counter is used to measure THz power. The applicable power range is between 1 nW and 1 μW.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1558-2515 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1354
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Author (down) Tong, C.-Y. E.; Meledin, D.; Loudkov, D.; Blundell, R.; Erickson, N.; Kawamura, J.; Mehdi, I.; Gol’tsman, G.
Title A 1.5 THz Hot-Electron Bolometer mixer operated by a planar diode based local oscillator Type Conference Article
Year 2003 Publication IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Digest Abbreviated Journal IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Digest
Volume 2 Issue Pages 751-754
Keywords waveguide NbN HEB mixers
Abstract We have developed a 1.5 THz superconducting NbN Hot-Electron Bolometer mixer. It is operated by an all-solid-state Local Oscillator comprising of a cascade of 4 planar doublers following an MMIC based W-band power amplifier. The threshold available pump power is estimated to be 1 /spl mu/W.
Address Philadelphia, PA, USA
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1516
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Author (down) Tong, C. Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Bumble, B.; Stern, J. A.; LeDuc, H. G.
Title Sub-Millimeter distributed quasiparticle receiver employing a non-Linear transmission line Type Conference Article
Year 1996 Publication Proc. 7th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 47
Keywords
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 271
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Author (down) Tong, C. Y. E.; Chen, L.; Blundell, R.
Title Theory of distributed mixing and amplification in a superconductingquasi-particle nonlinear transmission line Type Journal Article
Year 1997 Publication IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Techn. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 45 Issue 7 Pages 1086-1092
Keywords
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 274
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Author (down) Tong, C. Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Paine, S.; Papa, D. C.; Kawamura, J.; Stern, J.; LeDuc, H. G.
Title Design and characterization of a 250-350 GHz fixed-tuned superconductor-insulator-insulator receiver Type Journal Article
Year 1996 Publication IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Techn. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 44 Issue 9 Pages 1548-1556
Keywords
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 273
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Author (down) Tong, C. E.; Blundell, R.; Papa, D. C.; Smith, M.; Kawamura, J.; Gol'tsman, G.; Gershenzon, E.; Voronov, B.
Title An all solid-state superconducting heterodyne receiver at terahertz frequencies Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication IEEE Microw. Guid. Wave Lett. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Microw. Guid. Wave Lett.
Volume 9 Issue 9 Pages 366-368
Keywords waveguide NbN HEB mixers
Abstract A superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixer-receiver operating from 1 to 1.26 THz has been developed. This heterodyne receiver employs two solid-state local oscillators each consisting of a Gunn oscillator followed by two stages of varactor frequency multiplication. The measured receiver noise temperature is 1350 K at 1.035 THz and 2700 K at 1.26 THz. This receiver demonstrates that tunable solid-state local oscillators, supplying only a few micro-watts of output power, can be used in terahertz receiver applications.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8207 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1565
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Author (down) Shurakov, A.; Tong, Cheuk-yu E.; Grimes, P.; Blundell, R.; Golt'sman, G.
Title A microwave reflection readout scheme for hot electron bolometric direct detector Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication IEEE Trans. THz Sci. Technol. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. THz Sci. Technol.
Volume 5 Issue Pages 81-84
Keywords HEB detectors
Abstract In this paper, we propose and present data from a fast THz detector based on the repurpose of hot electron bolometer mixers (HEB) fabricated from superconducting NbN thinfilm. This detector is essentially a traditional NbN bolometer element that operates under the influence of a microwave pump. The in-jected microwave power serves the dual purpose of enhancing the detector sensitivity and reading out the impedance changes of the device in response to incidentTHz radiation. We have measured an optical Noise Equivalent Power of 4 pW/ Hz for our detector at a bath temperature of 4.2 K. The measurement frequency was 0.83 THz and the modulation frequency was 1.48 kHz. The readout

scheme is versatile and facilitates both high-speed operation as well as multi-pixel applications.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number RPLAB @ atomics90 @ Serial 950
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Author (down) Shurakov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Kaurova, N.; Voronov, B.; Gol'tsman, G.
Title Microwave stabilization of a HEB mixer in a pulse-tube cryocooler Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 23 Issue 3 Pages 1501504-1501504
Keywords NbN HEB mixers
Abstract We report the results of our study of the stability of an 800 GHz hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer cooled with a pulse-tube cryocooler. Pulse-tube cryocoolers introduce temperature fluctuations as well as mechanical vibrations at a frequency of ~1 Hz, both of which can cause receiver gain fluctuations at that frequency. In our system, the motor of the cryocooler was separated from the cryostat to minimize mechanical vibrations, leaving thermal effects as the dominant source of the receiver gain fluctuations. We measured root mean square temperature variations of the 4 K stage of ~7 mK. The HEB mixer was pumped by a solid state local oscillator at 810 GHz. The root mean square current fluctuations at the low noise operating point (1.50 mV, 56.5 μA) were ~0.12 μA, and were predominantly due to thermal fluctuations. To stabilize the bias current, microwave radiation was injected to the HEB mixer. The injected power level was set by a proportional-integral-derivative controller, which completely compensates for the bias current oscillations induced by the pulse-tube cryocooler. Significant improvement in the Allan variance of the receiver output power was obtained, and an Allan time of 5 s was measured.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1372
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Author (down) Ryabchun, S.; Tong, C.-yu E.; Blundell, R.; Kimberk, R.; Gol’tsman, G.
Title Effect of microwave radiation on the stability of terahertz hot-electron bolometer mixers Type Conference Article
Year 2006 Publication Proc. SPIE Abbreviated Journal Proc. SPIE
Volume 6373 Issue Pages 63730J (1 to 5)
Keywords NbN HEB mixers, hot-electron bolometer mixers, stability, Allan variance, LO power fluctuations
Abstract We report our studies of the effect of microwave radiation, with a frequency much lower than that corresponding to the energy gap of the superconductor, on the performance of the NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixer incorporated into a THz heterodyne receiver. It is shown that exposing the HEB mixer to microwave radiation does not result in a significant rise of the receiver noise temperature and degradation of the mixer conversion gain so long as the level of microwave power is small compared to the local oscillator drive. Hence the injection of a small, but controlled amount of microwave radiation enables active compensation of local oscillator power and coupling fluctuations which can significantly degrade the stability of HEB mixer receivers.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher SPIE Place of Publication Editor Anwar, M.; DeMaria, A.J.; Shur, M.S.
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference Terahertz Physics, Devices, and Systems
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1441
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