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Author Tong, C. Edward; Trifonov, Andrey; Blundell, Raymond; Shurakov, Alexander; Gol’tsman, Gregory
Title A digital terahertz power meter based on an NbN thin film Type Abstract
Year 2014 Publication Proc. 25th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal Proc. 25th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue (up) Pages 170
Keywords waveguide NbN HEB mixers
Abstract We have further studied the effect of subjecting a superconducting Hot Electron Bolometer (HEB) element made from an NbN thin film to microwave radiation. Since the photon energy is weak, the microwave radiation does not simply heat the film, but generates a bi-static state, switching between the superconducting and normal states, upon the application of a small voltage bias. Indeed, a relaxation oscillation of a few MHz has previously been reported in this regime [1]. Switching between the superconducting and normal states modulates the reflected microwave pump power from the device. A simple homodyne setup readily recovers the spontaneous switching waveform in the time domain. The switching frequency is a function of both the bias voltage (DC heating) and the applied microwave power. In this work, we use a 0.8 THz HEB waveguide mixer for the purpose of demonstration. The applied microwave pump, coupled through a directional coupler, is at 1 GHz. Since the pump power is of the order of a few μW, a room temperature amplifier is sufficient to amplify the reflected pump power from the HEB mixer, which beats with the microwave source in a homodyne set-up. After further amplification, the switching waveform is passed onto a frequency counter. The typical frequency of the switching pulses is 3-5 MHz. It is found that the digital frequency count increases with higher microwave pump power. When the HEB mixer is subjected to additional optical power at 0.8 THz, the frequency count also increases. When we vary the incident optical power by using a wire grid attenuator, a linear relationship is observed between the frequency count and the applied optical power, over at least an order of magnitude of power. This phenomenon can be exploited to develop a digital power meter, using a very simple electronics setup. Further experiments are under way to determine the range of linearity and the accuracy of calibration transfer from the microwave to the THz regime. References 1. Y. Zhuang, and S. Yngvesson, “Detection and interpretation of bistatic effects in NbN HEB devices,” Proc. 13 th Int. Symp. Space THz Tech., 2002, pp. 463–472.
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Call Number Serial 1366
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Author Pentin, I. V.; Smirnov, A. V.; Ryabchun, S. A.; Gol’tsman, G. N.; Vaks, V. L.; Pripolzin, S. I.; Paveliev, D. G.
Title Heterodyne source of THz range based on semiconductor superlattice multiplier Type Conference Article
Year 2011 Publication IRMMW-THz Abbreviated Journal IRMMW-THz
Volume Issue (up) Pages 1-2
Keywords NbN HEB mixer, superlattice
Abstract We present the results of our studies of the possibility of developing a heterodyne receiver incorporating a hot-electron bolometer mixer as the detector and a semiconductor superlattice multiplier driven by a reference synthesizer as the local oscillator. We observe that such a local oscillator offers enough power in the terahertz range to pump the HEB into the operating state.
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Call Number 6105209 Serial 1384
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Author Cherednichenko, S.; Drakinskiy, V.; Lecomte, B.; Dauplay, F.; Krieg, J.-M.; Delorme, Y.; Feret, A.; Hübers, H.-W.; Semenov, A.D.; Gol’tsman, G.N.
Title Terahertz heterodyne array based on NbN HEB mixers Type Abstract
Year 2008 Publication Proc. 19th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue (up) Pages 43
Keywords NbN HEB mixers array
Abstract A 16 pixel heterodyne receiver for 2.5 THz is been developed based on NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The receiver uses a quasioptical RF coupling approach where HEB mixers are integrated into double dipole antennas on 1.5μm thick Si3N4 / SiO2 membranes. Miniature mirrors (one per pixel) and back short for the antenna were used to design the output mixer beam profile. The camera design allows all 16 pixel IF readout in parallel. The gain bandwidth of the HEB mixers on Si3N4 / SiO 2 membranes was found to be about 3 GHz, when an MgO buffer layers is applied on the membrane. We will also present the progress in the camera heterodyne tests.
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Call Number Serial 1411
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Author Zhang, W.; Li, N.; Jiang, L.; Ren, Y.; Yao, Q.-J.; Lin, Z.-H.; Shi, S.-C.; Voronov, B. M.; Gol’tsman, G. N.
Title Dependence of noise temperature of quasi-optical superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixers on bath temperature and optical-axis displacement Type Conference Article
Year 2008 Publication Proc. SPIE Abbreviated Journal Proc. SPIE
Volume 6840 Issue (up) Pages 684007 (1 to 8)
Keywords NbN HEB mixers, noise temperature, LO power
Abstract It is known that the increase of bath temperature results in the decrease of critical current of superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers owing to the depression of superconductivity, thus leading to the degradation of the mixer’s sensitivity. Here we report our study on the effect of bath temperature on the heterodyne mixing performance of quasi-optical superconducting NbN HEB mixers incorporated with a two-arm log-spiral antenna. The correlation between the bath temperature, critical current, LO power requirement and noise temperature is investigated at 0.5 THz. Furthermore, the heterodyne mixing performance of quasi-optical superconducting NbN HEB mixers is examined while there is an optical-axis displacement between the center of the extended hemispherical silicon lens and the superconducting NbN HEB device, which is placed on the back of the lens. Detailed experimental results and analysis are presented.
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Publisher Spie Place of Publication Editor Zhang, C.; Zhang, X.-C.
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Area Expedition Conference Terahertz Photonics
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1415
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Author Cherednichenko, S.; Drakinskiy, V.; Baubert, J.; Lecomte, B.; Dauplay, F.; Krieg, J.-M.; Delorme, Y.; Feret, A.; Hübers, H.-W.; Semenov, A. D.; Gol’tsman, G. N.
Title 2.5 THz multipixel heterodyne receiver based on NbN HEB mixers Type Abstract
Year 2007 Publication Proc. 18th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal Proc. 18th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue (up) Pages 112
Keywords NbN HEB mixers
Abstract A 16 pixel heterodyne receiver for 2.5 THz has been developed based on NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The receiver uses a quasioptical RF coupling approach where HEB mixers are integrated into double dipole antennas on 1.5μm thick Si3N4 / SiO2 membranes. Spherical mirrors (one per pixel) and backshort distance from the antenna have been used to design the output mixer beam profile. The camera design allows all 16 pixel IF readout in parallel. Measurements of the mixers sensitivity and the input RF band are presented, and compared against calculations.
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Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1419
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