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Author Tong, C.-Y. E.; Trifonov, A.; Shurakov, A.; Blundell, R.; Gol’tsman, G.
Title A microwave-operated hot-electron-bolometric power detector for terahertz radiation Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 2300604 (1 to 4)
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixer
Abstract 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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Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1558-2515 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1354
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Author Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Ryabchun, S.; Gol'tsman, G.
Title Probing the stability of HEB mixers with microwave injection Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 2300404 (1 to 4)
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixer, stability, Allan-variance
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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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1355
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Author Gol'tsman, G. N.; Karasik, B. S.; Okunev, O. V.; Dzardanov, A. L.; Gershenzon, E. M.; Ekstrom, H.; Jacobsson, S.; Kollberg, E.
Title NbN hot electron superconducting mixers for 100 GHz operation Type Journal Article
Year 1995 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 3065-3068
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract NbN is a promising superconducting material for hot-electron superconducting mixers with an IF bandwidth larger than 1 GHz. In the 1OO GHz frequency range, the following parameters were obtained for 50 /spl Aring/ thick NbN films at 4.2 K: receiver noise temperature (DSB) /spl sim/1000 K; conversion loss /spl sim/10 dB; IF bandwidth /spl sim/1 GHz; and local oscillator power /spl sim/1 /spl mu/W. An increase of the critical current of the NbN film, increased working temperature, and a better mixer matching may allow a broader IF bandwidth up to 2 GHz, reduced conversion losses down to 3-5 dB and a receiver noise temperature (DSB) down to 200-300 K.
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Corporate Author Thesis
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Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes About LO power required Approved no
Call Number Serial 255
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Author Kawamura, J. H.; Tong, C.-Y.E.; Blundell, R.; Cosmo Papa, D.; Hunter, T. R.; Gol'tsman, G.; Cherednichenko, S.; Voronov, B.; Gershenzon, E.
Title An 800 GHz NbN phonon-cooled hot-electron bolometer mixer receiver Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 3753-3756
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract We describe a heterodyne receiver developed for astronomical applications to operate in the 350 /spl mu/m atmospheric window. The waveguide receiver employs a superconductive NbN phonon-cooled hot-electron bolometer mixer. The double sideband receiver noise temperature closely follows 1 kGHz/sup -1/ across 780-870 GHz, with the intermediate frequency centered at 1.4 GHz. The conversion loss is about 15 dB. The receiver was installed for operation at the University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy Submillimeter Telescope facility. The instrument was successfully used to conduct test observations of a number of celestial sources in a number of astronomically important spectral lines.
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Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 288
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Author Kroug, M.; Cherednichenko, S.; Merkel, H.; Kollberg, E.; Voronov, B.; Gol'tsman, G.; Hübers, H. W.; Richter, H.
Title NbN hot electron bolometric mixers for terahertz receivers Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 962-965
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract Sensitivity and gain bandwidth measurements of phonon-cooled NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixers are presented. The best receiver noise temperatures are: 700 K at 1.6 THz and 1100 K at 2.5 THz. Parylene as an antireflection coating on silicon has been investigated and used in the optics of the receiver. The dependence of the mixer gain bandwidth (GBW) on the bias voltage has been measured. Starting from low bias voltages, close to operating conditions yielding the lowest noise temperature, the GBW increases towards higher bias voltages, up to three times the initial value. The highest measured GBW is 9 GHz within the same bias range the noise temperature increases by a factor of two.
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Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 312
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Author Schwaab, G.W.; Sirmain, G.; Schubert, J.; Hubers, H.-W.; Gol'tsman, G.; Cherednichenko, S.; Verevkin, A.; Voronov, B.; Gershenzon, E.
Title Investigation of NbN phonon-cooled HEB mixers at 2.5 THz Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 4233-4236
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract The development of superconducting hot electron bolometric (HEB) mixers has been a big step forward in the direction of quantum noise limited mixer performance at THz frequencies. Such mixers are crucial for the upcoming generation of airborne and spaceborne THz heterodyne receivers. In this paper we report on new results on a phonon-cooled NbN HEB mixer using e-beam lithography. The superconducting film is 3 nm thick. The mixer is 0.2 μm long and 1.5 μm wide and it is integrated in a spiral antenna on a Si substrate. The device is quasi-optically coupled through a Si lens and a dielectric beam combiner to the radiation of an optically pumped FIR ring gas laser cavity. The performance of the mixer at different THz frequencies from 0.69 to 2.55 THz with an emphasis on 2.52 THz is demonstrated. At 2.52 THz minimum DSB noise temperatures of 4200 K have been achieved at an IF of 1.5 GHz and a bandwidth of 40 MHz with the mixer mounted in a cryostat and a 0.8 m long signal path in air.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 550
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Author Hajenius, M.; Yang, Z. Q.; Gao, J. R.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Voronov, B.; Gol'tsman, G.
Title Optimized sensitivity of NbN hot electron bolometer mixers by annealing Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 17 Issue 2 Pages 399-402
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract We report that the heterodyne sensitivity of superconducting hot-electron bolometers (HEBs) increases by 25-30% after annealing at 85degC in high vacuum. The devices studied are twin-slot antenna coupled mixers with a small area NbN bridge of 1 mum times 0.15 mum, above which there is a SiO 2 passivation layer. The mixer noise temperature, gain, and resistance versus temperature curve of a HEB before and after annealing are compared and analysed. We show that the annealing reduces the intrinsic noise of the mixer by 37% and makes the superconducting transition of the bridge and the contacts sharper. We argue that the reduction ofthe noise is mainly due to the improvement of the transparency of the contact/film interface. The lowest receiver noise temperature of 700 K is measured at a local oscillator frequency of 1.63 THz and at a bath temperature of 4.2 K.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1426
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Author Shurakov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Kaurova, N.; Voronov, B.; Gol'tsman, G.
Title Microwave stabilization of a HEB mixer in a pulse-tube cryocooler Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 23 Issue 3 Pages 1501504-1501504
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract We report the results of our study of the stability of an 800 GHz hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer cooled with a pulse-tube cryocooler. Pulse-tube cryocoolers introduce temperature fluctuations as well as mechanical vibrations at a frequency of ~1 Hz, both of which can cause receiver gain fluctuations at that frequency. In our system, the motor of the cryocooler was separated from the cryostat to minimize mechanical vibrations, leaving thermal effects as the dominant source of the receiver gain fluctuations. We measured root mean square temperature variations of the 4 K stage of ~7 mK. The HEB mixer was pumped by a solid state local oscillator at 810 GHz. The root mean square current fluctuations at the low noise operating point (1.50 mV, 56.5 μA) were ~0.12 μA, and were predominantly due to thermal fluctuations. To stabilize the bias current, microwave radiation was injected to the HEB mixer. The injected power level was set by a proportional-integral-derivative controller, which completely compensates for the bias current oscillations induced by the pulse-tube cryocooler. Significant improvement in the Allan variance of the receiver output power was obtained, and an Allan time of 5 s was measured.
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Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1372
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Author Ryabchun, S.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Kimberk, R.; Gol'tsman, G.
Title Study of the effect of microwave radiation on the operation of HEB mixers in the terahertz frequency range Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 17 Issue 2 Pages 391-394
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract We have investigated the effect of injecting microwave radiation, with a frequency much lower than that corresponding to the energy gap of the superconductor, on the performance of the hot-electron bolometer mixer incorporated into a THz heterodyne receiver. More specifically, we show that exposing the mixer to microwave radiation does not cause a significant rise of the receiver noise temperature and fall of the mixer conversion gain so long as the microwave power is a small fraction of local oscillator power. The injection of a small, but controlled amount of microwave power therefore enables active compensation of local oscillator power and coupling fluctuations which can significantly degrade the gain stability of hot electron bolometer mixer receivers.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1427
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Author Jiang, L.; Li, J.; Zhang, W.; Yao, Q. J.; Lin, Z. L.; Shi, S. C.; Vachtomin, Y. B.; Antipov, S. V.; Svechnikov, S. I.; Voronov, B. M.; Goltsman, G. N.
Title Characterization of NbN HEB mixers cooled by a close-cycled 4 Kelvin refrigerator Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 511-513
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract It is quite beneficial to operate superconducting hot-electron-bolometer (HEB) mixers with a close-cycled 4 Kelvin refrigerator for real applications such as astronomy and atmospheric research. In this paper, a phononcooled NbN HEB mixer (quasioptical type) is thoroughly characterized under such a cooling circumstance. The effects of mechanical vibration, electrical interference, and temperature fluctuation of a two-stage Gifford-McMahon 4 Kelvin refrigerator upon the characteristics of the phononcooled NbN HEB mixer are investigated in particular. Detailed measurement results are presented.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1558-2515 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1469
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Author Kawamura, J.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Blundell, R.; Papa, D. C.; Hunter, T. R.; Patt, F.; Gol’tsman, G.; Gershenzon, E.
Title Terahertz-frequency waveguide NbN hot-electron bolometer mixer Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 952-954
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract We have developed a low-noise waveguide heterodyne receiver for operation near 1 THz using phonon-cooled NbN hot-electron bolometers. The mixer elements are submicron-sized microbridges of 4 nm-thick NbN film fabricated on a quartz substrate. Operating at a bath temperature of 4.2 K, the double-sideband receiver noise temperature is 760 K at 1.02 THz and 1100 K at 1.26 THz. The local oscillator is provided by solid-state sources, and power measured at the source is less than 1 /spl mu/W. The intermediate frequency bandwidth exceeds 2 GHz. The receiver was used to make the first ground-based heterodyne detection of a celestial spectroscopic line above 1 THz.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1558-2515 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1546
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Author Gerecht, E.; Musante, C. F.; Zhuang, Y.; Yngvesson, K. S.; Gol’tsman, G. N.; Voronov, B. M.; Gershenzon, E. M.
Title NbN hot electron bolometric mixerss—a new technology for low-noise THz receivers Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 47 Issue 12 Pages 2519-2527
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract New advances in hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers have recently resulted in record-low receiver noise temperatures at terahertz frequencies. We have developed quasi-optically coupled NbN HEB mixers and measured noise temperatures up to 2.24 THz, as described in this paper. We project the anticipated future performance of such receivers to have even lower noise temperature and local-oscillator power requirement as well as wider gain and noise bandwidths. We introduce a proposal for integrated focal plane arrays of HEB mixers that will further increase the detection speed of terahertz systems.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1557-9670 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1560
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Author Gerecht, E.; Musante, C. F.; Jian, H.; Yngvesson, K. S.; Dickinson, J.; Waldman, J.; Yagoubov, P. A.; Gol'tsman, G. N.; Voronov, B. M.; Gershenzon, E. M.
Title New results for NbN phonon-cooled hot electron bolometric mixers above 1 THz Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 4217-4220
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract NbN Hot Electron Bolometric (HEB) mixers have produced promising results in terms of DSB receiver noise temperature (2800 K at 1.56 THz). The LO source for these mixers is a gas laser pumped by a CO/sub 2/ laser and the device is quasi-optically coupled through an extended hemispherical lens and a self-complementary log-periodic toothed antenna. NbN HEBs do not require submicron dimensions, can be operated comfortably at 4.2 K or higher, and require LO power of about 100-500 nW. IF noise bandwidths of 5 GHz or greater have been demonstrated. The DC bias point is also not affected by thermal radiation at 300 K. Receiver noise temperatures below 1 THz are typically 450-600 K and are expected to gradually approach these levels above 1 THz as well. NbN HEB mixers thus are rapidly approaching the type of performance required of a rugged practical receiver for astronomy and remote sensing in the THz region.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1568
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Author Yagoubov, P.; Kroug, M.; Merkel, H.; Kollberg, E.; Schubert, J.; Hubers, H.-W.; Schwaab, G.; Gol'tsman, G.; Gershenzon, E.
Title Heterodyne measurements of a NbN superconducting hot electron mixer at terahertz frequencies Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 3757-3760
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract The performance of a NbN based phonon-cooled Hot Electron Bolometric (HEB) quasioptical mixer is investigated in the 0.65-3.12 THz frequency range. The device is made from a 3 nm thick NbN film on high resistivity Si and integrated with a planar spiral antenna on the same substrate. The in-plane dimensions of the bolometer strip are 0.2/spl times/2 /spl mu/m. The best results of the DSB noise temperature at 1.5 GHz IF frequency obtained with one device are: 1300 K at 650 GHz, 4700 K at 2.5 THz and 10000 K at 3.12 THz. The measurements were performed at 4.5 K ambient temperature. The amount of local oscillator (LO) power absorbed in the bolometer is about 100 nW. The mixer is linear to within 1 dB compression up to the signal level 10 dB below that of the LO. The intrinsic single sideband conversion gain measured at 650 GHz is -9 dB, the total conversion gain is -14 dB.
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Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1569
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Author Semenov, A. D.; Gousev, Y. P.; Renk, K. F.; Voronov, B. M.; Gol'tsman, G. N.; Gershenzon, E. M.; Schwaab, G.W.; Feinaugle, R.
Title Noise characteristics of a NbN hot-electron mixer at 2.5 THz Type Journal Article
Year 1997 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 3572-3575
Keywords (up) NbN HEB mixers
Abstract The noise temperature of a NbN phonon cooled hot-electron mixer has been measured at a frequency of 2.5 THz for various operating conditions. We obtained for optimal operation a double sideband mixer noise temperature of /spl ap/14000 K and a system conversion loss of /spl ap/23 dB at intermediate frequencies up to 1 GHz. The dependences of the mixer noise temperature on the bias voltage, local oscillator power, and intermediate frequency were consistent with the phenomenological description based on the effective temperature approximation.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1594
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