Antipov, S., Trifonov, A., Krause, S., Meledin, D., Desmaris, V., Belitsky, V., et al. (2017). Gain bandwidth of NbN HEB mixers on GaN buffer layer operating at 2 THz local oscillator frequency. In Proc. 28th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 147–148).
Abstract: In this paper, we present IF bandwidth measurement results of NbN HEB mixers, which are employing NbN thin films grown on a GaN buffer-layer. The HEB mixers were operated in the heterodyne regime at a bath temperature of approximately 4.5 K and with a local oscillator operating at a frequency of 2 THz. A quantum cascade laser served as the local oscillator and a reference synthesizer based on a BWO generator (130-160 GHz) and a semiconductor superlattice (SSL) frequency multiplier was used as a signal source. By changing the LO frequency it was possible to record the IF response or gain bandwidth of the HEB with a spectrum analyzer at the operation point, which yielded lowest noise temperature. The gain bandwidth that was recorded in the heterodyne regime at 2 THz amounts to approximately 5 GHz and coincides well with a measurement that has been performed at elevated bath temperatures and lower LO frequency of 140 GHz. These findings strongly support that by using a GaN buffer-layer the phonon escape time of NbN HEBs can be significantly lower as compared to e.g. Si substrate, thus, providing higher gain bandwidth.
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Krause, S., Mityashkin, V., Antipov, S., Gol'tsman, G., Meledin, D., Desmaris, V., et al. (2016). Study of IF bandwidth of NbN hot electron bolometers on GaN buffer layer using a direct measurement method. In Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 30–32).
Abstract: In this paper, we present a reliable measurement method to study the influence of the GaN buffer layer on phonon-escape time in comparison with commonly used Si substrates and, in consequence, on the IF bandwidth of HEBs. One of the key aspects is to operate the HEB mixer at elevated bath temperatures close to the critical temperature of the NbN ultra-thin film, where contributions from electron-phonon processes and self-heating effects are relatively small, therefore IF roll-off will be governed by the phonon-escape.Two independent experiments were performed at GARD and MSPU on a similar experimental setup at frequencies of approximately 180 and 140 GHz, respectively, and have shown reproducible and consistent results. The entire IF chain was characterized by S-parameter measurements. We compared the measurement results of epitaxial NbN grown onto GaN buffer-layer with Tc of 12.5 K (4.5nm) with high quality polycrystalline NbN films on Si substrate with Tc of 10.5K (5nm) and observed a strong indication of an enhancement of phonon escape to the substrate by a factor of two for the NbN/GaN material combination.
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Trifonov, A., Tong, C. - Y. E., Lobanov, Y., Kaurova, N., Blundell, R., & Goltsman, G. (2016). Gap frequency and photon absorption in a hot electron bolometer. In Proc. 27th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (121).
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.
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Huebers, H. - W., Schubert, J., Semenov, A., Gol’tsman, G. N., Voronov, B. M., Gershenzon, E. M., et al. (1999). NbN phonon-cooled hot-electron bolometer as a mixer for THz heterodyne receivers. In J. M. Chamberlain (Ed.), Proc. SPIE (Vol. 3828, pp. 410–416). Spie.
Abstract: We have investigated a phonon-cooled NbN hot electron bolometric (HEB) mixer in the frequency range from 0.7 THz to 5.2 THz. The device was a 3.5 nm thin film with an in- plane dimension of 1.7 X 0.2 micrometers 2 integrated in a complementary logarithmic spiral antenna. The measured DSB receiver noise temperatures are 1500 K, 2200 K, 2600 K, 2900 K, 4000 K, 5600 K and 8800 K. The sensitivity fluctuation, the long term stability, and the antenna pattern were measured and the suitability of the mixer for a practical heterodyne receiver is discussed.
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Antipov, S., Trifonov, A., Krause, S., Meledin, D., Kaurova, N., Rudzinski, M., et al. (2019). Improved bandwidth of a 2 THz hot-electron bolometer heterodyne mixer fabricated on sapphire with a GaN buffer layer. Supercond. Sci. Technol., 32(7), 075003.
Abstract: We report on the signal-to-noise and gain bandwidth of a niobium nitride (NbN) hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixer at 2 THz fabricated on a sapphire substrate with a GaN buffer layer. Two mixers with different DC properties and geometrical dimensions were studied and they demonstrated very close bandwidth performance. The signal-to-noise bandwidth is increased to 8 GHz in comparison to the previous results, obtained without a buffer-layer. The data were taken in a quasi-optical system with the use of the signal-to-noise method, which is close to the signal levels used in actual astrophysical observations. We find an increase of the gain bandwidth to 5 GHz. The results indicate that prior results obtained on a substrate of crystalline GaN can also be obtained on a conventional sapphire substrate with a few micron MOCVD-deposited GaN buffer-layer.
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