Coumou, P. C. J. J., Driessen, E. F. C., Bueno, J., Chapelier, C., & Klapwijk, T. M. (2013). Electrodynamic response and local tunneling spectroscopy of strongly disordered superconducting TiN films. Phys. Rev. B, 88(18), 180505 (1 to 5).
Abstract: We have studied the electrodynamic response of strongly disordered superconducting TiN films using microwave resonators, where the disordered superconductor is the resonating element in a high-quality superconducting environment of NbTiN. We describe the response assuming an effective pair-breaking mechanism modifying the density of states and compare this to local tunneling spectra obtained using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. For the least disordered film (kFl=8.7, Rs=13Ω), we find good agreement, whereas for the most disordered film (kFl=0.82, Rs=4.3kΩ), there is a strong discrepancy, which signals the breakdown of a model based on uniform properties.
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Baselmans, J. J. A., Baryshev, A., Reker, S. F., Hajenius, M., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., et al. (2005). Direct detection effect in small volume hot electron bolometer mixers. Appl. Phys. Lett., 86(16), 163503 (1 to 3).
Abstract: We measure the direct detection effect in a small volume (0.15μm×1μm×3.5nm)(0.15μm×1μm×3.5nm) quasioptical NbN phonon cooled hot electronbolometermixer at 1.6THz1.6THz. We find that the small signal sensitivity of the receiver is underestimated by 35% due to the direct detection effect and that the optimal operating point is shifted to higher bias voltages when using calibration loads of 300K300K and 77K77K. Using a 200GHz200GHzbandpass filter at 4.2K4.2K the direct detection effect virtually disappears. This has important implications for the calibration procedure of these receivers in real telescope systems.
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Shcherbatenko, M., Tretyakov, I., Lobanov, Y., Maslennikov, S. N., Kaurova, N., Finkel, M., et al. (2016). Nonequilibrium interpretation of DC properties of NbN superconducting hot electron bolometers. Appl. Phys. Lett., 109(13), 132602.
Abstract: We present a physically consistent interpretation of the dc electrical properties of niobiumnitride (NbN)-based superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixers, using concepts of nonequilibrium superconductivity. Through this, we clarify what physical information can be extracted from the resistive transition and the dc current-voltage characteristics, measured at suitably chosen temperatures, and relevant for device characterization and optimization. We point out that the intrinsic spatial variation of the electronic properties of disordered superconductors, such as NbN, leads to a variation from device to device.
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Dorenbos, S. N., Reiger, E. M., Perinetti, U., Zwiller, V., Zijlstra, T., & Klapwijk, T. M. (2008). Low noise superconducting single photon detectors on silicon. Appl. Phys. Lett., 93(13), 131101.
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Zhang, W., Khosropanah, P., Gao, J. R., Kollberg, E. L., Yngvesson, K. S., Bansal, T., et al. (2010). Quantum noise in a terahertz hot electron bolometer mixer. Appl. Phys. Lett., 96(11), 111113–(1–3).
Abstract: We have measured the noise temperature of a single, sensitive superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer in a frequency range from 1.6 to 5.3 THz, using a setup with all the key components in vacuum. By analyzing the measured receiver noise temperature using a quantum noise (QN) model for HEB mixers, we confirm the effect of QN. The QN is found to be responsible for about half of the receiver noise at the highest frequency in our measurements. The beta-factor (the quantum efficiency of the HEB) obtained experimentally agrees reasonably well with the calculated value.
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Baselmans, J. J. A., Baryshev, A., Reker, S. F., Hajenius, M., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., et al. (2006). Influence of the direct response on the heterodyne sensitivity of hot electron bolometer mixers. J. Appl. Phys., 100(8), 084510 (1 to 7).
Abstract: We present a detailed experimental study of the direct detection effect in a small volume (0.15μm×1μm×3.5nm) quasioptical NbN phonon cooled hot electron bolometer mixer at 673GHz. We find that the small signal noise temperature, relevant for an astronomical observation, is 20% lower than the noise temperature obtained using 300 and 77K calibration loads. In a separate set of experiments we show that the direct detection effect is caused by a combination of bias current reduction when switching from the 77 to the 300K
load in combination with the bias current dependence of the receiver gain. The bias current dependence of the receiver gain is shown to be mainly caused by the current dependence of the mixer gain.
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Hajenius, M., Baselmans, J. J. A., Baryshev, A., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., Kooi, J. W., et al. (2006). Full characterization and analysis of a terahertz heterodyne receiver based on a NbN hot electron bolometer. J. Appl. Phys., 100(7), 074507.
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Kooi, J. W., Baselmans, J. J. A., Baryshev, A., Schieder, R., Hajenius, M., Gao, J. R., et al. (2006). Stability of heterodyne terahertz receivers. J. Appl. Phys., 100(6), 064904 (1 to 9).
Abstract: In this paper we discuss the stability of heterodyne terahertz receivers based on small volume NbN phonon cooled hot electron bolometers (HEBs). The stability of these receivers can be broken down in two parts: the intrinsic stability of the HEB mixer and the stability of the local oscillator (LO) signal injection scheme. Measurements show that the HEB mixer stability is limited by gain fluctuations with a 1∕f spectral distribution. In a 60MHz noise bandwidth this results in an Allan variance stability time of ∼0.3s. Measurement of the spectroscopic Allan variance between two intermediate frequency (IF) channels results in a much longer Allan variance stability time, i.e., 3s between a 2.5 and a 4.7GHz channel, and even longer for more closely spaced channels. This implies that the HEB mixer 1∕f noise is strongly correlated across the IF band and that the correlation gets stronger the closer the IF channels are spaced. In the second part of the paper we discuss atmospheric and mechanical system stability requirements on the LO-mixer cavity path length. We calculate the mixer output noise fluctuations as a result of small perturbations of the LO-mixer standing wave, and find very stringent mechanical and atmospheric tolerance requirements for receivers operating at terahertz frequencies.
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Kardakova, A., Shishkin, A., Semenov, A., Goltsman, G. N., Ryabchun, S., Klapwijk, T. M., et al. (2016). Relaxation of the resistive superconducting state in boron-doped diamond films. Phys. Rev. B, 93(6), 064506.
Abstract: We report a study of the relaxation time of the restoration of the resistive superconducting state in single crystalline boron-doped diamond using amplitude-modulated absorption of (sub-)THz radiation (AMAR). The films grown on an insulating diamond substrate have a low carrier density of about 2.5×1021cm−3 and a critical temperature of about 2K. By changing the modulation frequency we find a high-frequency rolloff which we associate with the characteristic time of energy relaxation between the electron and the phonon systems or the relaxation time for nonequilibrium superconductivity. Our main result is that the electron-phonon scattering time varies clearly as T−2, over the accessible temperature range of 1.7 to 2.2 K. In addition, we find, upon approaching the critical temperature Tc, evidence for an increasing relaxation time on both sides of Tc.
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Baeva, E. M., Sidorova, M. V., Korneev, A. A., Smirnov, K. V., Divochy, A. V., Morozov, P. V., et al. (2018). Thermal properties of NbN single-photon detectors. Phys. Rev. Applied, 10(6), 064063 (1 to 8).
Abstract: We investigate thermal properties of a NbN single-photon detector capable of unit internal detection efficiency. Using an independent calibration of the coupling losses, we determine the absolute optical power absorbed by the NbN film and, via resistive superconductor thermometry, the temperature dependence of the thermal resistance Z(T) of the NbN film. In principle, this approach permits simultaneous measurement of the electron-phonon and phonon-escape contributions to the energy relaxation, which in our case is ambiguous because of the similar temperature dependencies. We analyze Z(T) with a two-temperature model and impose an upper bound on the ratio of electron and phonon heat capacities in NbN, which is surprisingly close to a recent theoretical lower bound for the same quantity in similar devices.
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