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Gol'tsman, G. N., & Loudkov, D. N. (2003). Terahertz superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixers and their application in radio astronomy. Radiophys. Quant. Electron., 46(8/9), 604–617.
Abstract: We review the latest developments, research, and radioastronomy applications of hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers operated in the terahertz waveband. The physical principles of operation of terahertz HEB mixers are presented, their manufacturing from ultrathin NbN films, the main HEB-mixer parameters and their measurement techniques are discussed, and practical terahertz radioastronomy projects based on heterodyne receivers with HEB mixers are considered.
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Gershenzon, E. M., & Gol'tsman, G. N. (1993). Hot electron superconductive mixers. In Proc. 4th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 618–622).
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Tretyakov, I., Ryabchun, S., Finkel, M., Maslennikov, S., Maslennikova, A., Kaurova, N., et al. (2011). Ultrawide noise bandwidth of NbN hot-electron bolometer mixers with in situ gold contacts. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 21(3), 620–623.
Abstract: We report a noise bandwidth of 7 GHz in the new generation of NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers that are being developed for the space observatory Millimetron. The HEB receiver driven by a 2.5-THz local oscillator offered a noise temperature of 600 K in a 50-MHz final detection bandwidth. As the filter center frequency was swept this value remained nearly constant up to the cutoff frequency of the cryogenic amplifier at 7 GHz. We believe that such a low value of the noise temperature is due to reduced radio frequency (RF) loss at the interface between the superconducting film and the gold contacts. We have also performed gain bandwidth measurements at the superconducting transition on HEB mixers with various lengths and found them to be in excellent agreement with the results of the analytical and numerical models developed for the HEB mixer with both diffusion and phonon cooling of hot electrons.
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Gol'tsman, G. N., Elant'iev, A. I., Karasik, B. S., & Gershenzon, E. M. (1993). Antenna – coupled superconducting electron-heating bolometer. In Proc. 4th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 623–628).
Abstract: We propose a novel antenna-coupled superconducting bolometer based on electron-heating in the resistive state. A short narrow ultrathin super- conducting film strip (sized approximately 4x1x0.01 pm 3 ), which is in good thermal contact with the thermostat, serves as a resistive load for infrared or submillimeter current. In contrast to conventional isothermal super- conducting bolometers electron-heating ones can have a higher sensitivity which grows when filni. thickness is reduced. Response time of electron- heating bolometer does not depend on heat transfer from the film to the enviroment. To calculate the sensitivity (NEP), we have used experimental data on wideband Al, Nb and NbN bolometers which have the same un- derlying physical mechanism. The bolom.eters have been made in the form of a structure composed of a number of long narrow strips. The values of for Al, NEP have been found to be 1.5 . 113 -16 1 140 -15 ) and 2 . 10 – 14werT,-1/2 – Nb and NbN respectively. In the paper, the prospects are also discussed of improving the picosecond YBaCuO detector, developed recently. NEP value of the detector, if combined with a microantenna, can reach the order of 10- •ilz-v2.
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Yang, J. K. W., Dauler, E., Ferri, A., Pearlman, A., Verevkin, A., Gol’tsman, G., et al. (2005). Fabrication development for nanowire GHz-counting-rate single-photon detectors. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 15(2), 626–630.
Abstract: We have developed a fabrication process for GHz-counting-rate, single-photon, high-detection-efficiency, NbN, nanowire detectors. We have demonstrated two processes for the device patterning, one based on the standard polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) organic positive-tone electron-beam resist, and the other based on the newer hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) negative-tone spin-on-glass resist. The HSQ-based process is simple and robust, providing high resolution and the prospect of high fill-factors. Initial testing results show superconductivity in the films, and suggest that the devices exhibit photosensitivity.
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Klapwijk, T. M., & Semenov, A. V. (2017). Engineering physics of superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixers. IEEE Trans. THz Sci. Technol., 7(6), 627–648.
Abstract: Superconducting hot-electron bolometers are presently the best performing mixing devices for the frequency range beyond 1.2 THz, where good-quality superconductor-insulator-superconductor devices do not exist. Their physical appearance is very simple: an antenna consisting of a normal metal, sometimes a normal-metal-superconductor bilayer, connected to a thin film of a narrow short superconductor with a high resistivity in the normal state. The device is brought into an optimal operating regime by applying a dc current and a certain amount of local-oscillator power. Despite this technological simplicity, its operation has found to be controlled by many different aspects of superconductivity, all occurring simultaneously. A core ingredient is the understanding that there are two sources of resistance in a superconductor: a charge-conversion resistance occurring at a normal-metal-superconductor interface and a resistance due to time-dependent changes of the superconducting phase. The latter is responsible for the actual mixing process in a nonuniform superconducting environment set up by the bias conditions and the geometry. The present understanding indicates that further improvement needs to be found in the use of other materials with a faster energy relaxation rate. Meanwhile, several empirical parameters have become physically meaningful indicators of the devices, which will facilitate the technological developments.
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Lobanov, Y., Tong, E., Blundell, R., Hedden, A., Voronov, B., & Gol'tsman, G. (2011). Large-signal frequency response of an HEB mixer: from 300 MHz to terahertz. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 21(3), 628–631.
Abstract: We present a study of the large signal frequency response of an HEB mixer over a wide frequency range. In our experiments, we have subjected the HEB mixer to incident electromagnetic radiation from 0.3 GHz to 1 THz. The mixer element is an NbN film deposited on crystalline quartz. The mixer chip is mounted in a waveguide cavity, coupled to free space with a diagonal horn. At microwave frequencies, electromagnetic radiation is applied through the coaxial bias port of the mixer block. At higher frequencies the input signal passes via the diagonal horn feed. At each frequency, the incident power is varied and a family of I-V curves is recorded. From the curves we identify 3 distinct regimes of operation of the mixer separated by the phonon relaxation frequency and the superconducting energy gap frequency observed at about 3 GHz and 660 GHz respectively. In this paper, we will present observed curves and discuss the results of our experiment.
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Gershenzon, E. M., Gol'tsman, G. N., Potapov, V. D., & Sergeev, A. V. (1991). Restriction of microwave enhancement of superconductivity in impure superconductors due to electron-electron interaction. Phys. B Condens. Mat., 169(1-4), 629–630.
Abstract: Transition from microwave enhancement of supercurrent to superconductivity suppression is investigated in impure superconductors. It is demonstrated that frequency range of enhancement effect narrows with the decrease of electron mean free path, ℓ, and at ℓ⩽1nm electron heating is observed in the whole frequency range. Dependences of frequency boundaries on ℓ are explained by taking into account strong electron-electron interaction in impure metals.
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Gershenzon, E. M., Goltsman, G. N., & Orlov, L. (1976). Investigation of population and ionization of donor excited states in Ge. In Physics of Semiconductors (pp. 631–634). North-Holland Publishing Co.
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Gershenzon, E. M., Gol'tsman, G. N., Potapov, V. D., & Sergeev, A. V. (1990). Restriction of microwave enhancement of superconductivity in impure superconductors due to electron-electron interaction. Solid State Communications, 75(8), 639–641.
Abstract: Transition from microwave enhancement of supercurrent to superconductivity suppression is investigated in impure superconductors. It is demonstrated that the frequency range of the enhancement effect narrows with the decrease of the electron mean free path, l, and at l ⩽ 1 nm electron heating is observed in the whole frequency range. Dependences of frequency boundaries on l are explained by taking into account strong electron-electron interaction in impure metals.
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