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Author  |
Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G. |
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Title |
Gap frequency and photon absorption in a hot electron bolometer |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2016 |
Publication |
Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
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121 |
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Keywords |
NbN HEB; Si membrane |
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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. |
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Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G. |
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Title |
Photon absorption near the gap frequency in a hot electron bolometer |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2017 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
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27 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
1-4 |
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Keywords |
NBN HEB mixer |
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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. |
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1558-2515 |
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1331 |
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Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Grimes, P.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G. |
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Title |
Development of A Silicon Membrane-based Multi-pixel Hot Electron Bolometer Receiver |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2017 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
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27 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
6 |
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Keywords |
Multi-pixel, HEB, silicon-on-insulator, horn array |
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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, |
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RPLAB @ kovalyuk @ |
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1111 |
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Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Grimes, P.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G. |
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Title |
Development of a silicon membrane-based multipixel hot electron bolometer receiver |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2017 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
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Volume |
27 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
1-5 |
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Keywords |
Multi-pixel, NbN HEB, silicon-on-insulator, horn array |
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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. |
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1051-8223 |
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1324 |
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Author |
Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Ryabchun, S.; Gol'tsman, G. |
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Title |
Probing the stability of HEB mixers with microwave injection |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2015 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
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Volume |
25 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
2300404 (1 to 4) |
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Keywords |
NbN HEB mixer, stability, Allan-variance |
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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%. |
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1051-8223 |
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1355 |
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Author |
Tong, C.-Y.E.; Meledin, D.V.; Marrone, D.P.; Paine, S.N.; Gibson, H.; Blundell, R. |
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Title |
Near field vector beam measurements at 1 THz |
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Journal Article |
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2003 |
Publication |
IEEE Microw. Compon. Lett. |
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13 |
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6 |
Pages |
235-237 |
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Keywords |
HEB, mixer, waveguide, LO power, local oscillator power, saturation effect, dynamic range |
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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. |
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1531-1309 |
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RPLAB @ lobanovyury @ |
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574 |
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Tong, C.-Y. E.; Trifonov, A.; Shurakov, A.; Blundell, R.; Gol’tsman, G. |
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Title |
A microwave-operated hot-electron-bolometric power detector for terahertz radiation |
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Journal Article |
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2015 |
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IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
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25 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
2300604 (1 to 4) |
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Keywords |
NbN HEB mixer |
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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. |
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1354 |
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Tong, C.-Y. E.; Meledin, D.; Loudkov, D.; Blundell, R.; Erickson, N.; Kawamura, J.; Mehdi, I.; Gol’tsman, G. |
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Title |
A 1.5 THz Hot-Electron Bolometer mixer operated by a planar diode based local oscillator |
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2003 |
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IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Digest |
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IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Digest |
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2 |
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751-754 |
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Keywords |
waveguide NbN HEB mixers |
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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. |
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Philadelphia, PA, USA |
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1516 |
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Tong, C. Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Bumble, B.; Stern, J. A.; LeDuc, H. G. |
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Title |
Sub-Millimeter distributed quasiparticle receiver employing a non-Linear transmission line |
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1996 |
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Proc. 7th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
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47 |
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Tong, C. Y. E.; Chen, L.; Blundell, R. |
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Theory of distributed mixing and amplification in a superconductingquasi-particle nonlinear transmission line |
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1997 |
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IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Techn. |
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45 |
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7 |
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1086-1092 |
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