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Author Lobanov, Y.V.; Tong, C.-Y.E.; Hedden, A.S.; Blundell, R.; Voronov, B.M.; Gol'tsman, G.N.
Title Direct measurement of the gain and noise bandwidths of HEB mixers Type Journal Article
Year 2011 Publication (down) IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 645-648
Keywords waveguide NbN HEB mixers
Abstract The intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth of a hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer is an important parameter of the mixer, in that it helps to determine its suitability for a given application. With the availability of wideband low noise amplifiers, it is simple to measure the performance of an HEB mixer over a wide range of IF at a fixed LO frequency using the standard Y-factor method. This in-situ method allows us to measure both the gain and noise bandwidths simultaneously. We have also measured mixer output impedance with a vector network analyser. Intrinsic time constant has been extracted from the impedance data and compared to the mixer's bandwidths determined from receiver Y-factor measurement.
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Call Number RPLAB @ gujma @ Serial 720
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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 (down) IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 2300404 (1 to 4)
Keywords 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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ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1355
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Author Lobanov, Y.; Shcherbatenko, M.; Finkel, M.; Maslennikov, S.; Semenov, A.; Voronov, B. M.; Rodin, A. V.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Gol'tsman, G. N.
Title NbN hot-electron-bolometer mixer for operation in the near-IR frequency range Type Journal Article
Year 2015 Publication (down) IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 2300704 (1 to 4)
Keywords HEB mixer, IR, optical antenna
Abstract Traditionally, hot-electron-bolometer (HEB) mixers are employed for THz and “super-THz” heterodyne detection. To explore the near-IR spectral range, we propose a fiber-coupled NbN film based HEB mixer. To enhance the incident-light absorption, a quasi-antenna consisting of a set of parallel stripes of gold is used. To study the antenna effect on the mixer performance, we have experimentally studied a set of devices with different size of the Au stripe and spacing between the neighboring stripes. With use of the well-known isotherm technique we have estimated the absorption efficiency of the mixer, and the maximum efficiency has been observed for devices with the smallest pitch of the alternating NbN and NbN-Au stripes. Also, a proper alignment of the incident Eâƒ<2014>-field with respect to the stripes allows us to improve the coupling further. Studying IV-characteristics of the mixer under differently-aligned Eâƒ<2014>-field of the incident radiation, we have noticed a difference in their shape. This observation suggests that a difference exists in the way the two waves with orthogonal polarizations parallel and perpendicular Eâƒ<2014>-field to the stripes heat the electrons in the HEB mixer. The latter results in a variation in the electron temperature distribution over the HEB device irradiated by the two waves.
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Call Number Serial 952
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Author Hajenius, M.; Barends, R.; Gao, J. R.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Baryshev, A.; Voronov, B.; Gol'tsman, G.
Title Local resistivity and the current-voltage characteristics of hot electron bolometer mixers Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication (down) IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 495-498
Keywords HEB mixer distributed model, HEB distributed model, distributed HEB model
Abstract Hot-electron bolometer devices, used successfully in low noise heterodyne mixing at frequencies up to 2.5 THz, have been analyzed. A distributed temperature numerical model of the NbN bridge, based on a local electron and a phonon temperature, is used to model pumped IV curves and understand the physical conditions during the mixing process. We argue that the mixing is predominantly due to the strongly temperature dependent local resistivity of the NbN. Experimentally we identify the origins of different transition temperatures in a real HEB device, suggesting the importance of the intrinsic resistive transition of the superconducting bridge in the modeling.
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ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 980
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Author Skalare, A.; McGrath, William R.; Echternach, P. M.; Leduc, H. G.; Siddiqi, I.; Verevkin, A.; Prober, D. E.
Title Aluminum hot-electron bolometer mixers at submillimeter wavelengths Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication (down) IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal
Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 641-644
Keywords Al HEB mixer, contacts, interface, in situ, in-situ, Aluminium HEB mixer
Abstract Diffusion-cooled aluminum hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers are of interest for low-noise high resolution THz-frequency spectroscopy within astrophysics. Al HEB mixers offer operation with an order of magnitude less local oscillator power, higher intermediate frequency bandwidth and potentially lower noise than competing devices made from other materials. We report on mixer experiments at 618 GHz with devices fabricated from films with sheet resistances in the range from about 55 Ω down to about 9 Ω per square. Intermediate frequency bandwidths of up to 3 GHz were measured (1 μm long device), with absorbed local oscillator power levels of 0.5 to 6 nW and mixer conversion up to -21.5 dB. High input coupling efficiency implies that the electrons in the device are able to thermalize before escaping from the device. It was found that the long coherence length complicates mixer operations due to the proximity of the contact pads. Also, saturation at the IF frequency may be a concern for this type of device, and warrants further studies.
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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 ref919426b Serial 1061
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