Fu, K., Zannoni, R., Chan, C., Adams, S. H., Nicholson, J., Polizzi, E., et al. (2008). Terahertz detection in single wall carbon nanotubes. Appl. Phys. Lett., 92(3), 033105.
Abstract: It is reported that terahertz radiation from 0.69 to 2.54 THz has been sensitively detected in a device consisting of bundles of carbon nanotubes containing single wall metallic carbon nanotubes, quasioptically coupled through a lithographically fabricated antenna, and a silicon lens. The measured data are consistent with a bolometric detection process in the metallic tubes and the devices show promise for operation well above 4.2 K.
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Siddiqi, I., & Prober, D. E. (2004). Nb–Au bilayer hot-electron bolometers for low-noise THz heterodyne detection. Appl. Phys. Lett., 84(8), 1404.
Abstract: The sensitivity of present Nb diffusion-cooled hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers is not quantum limited, and can be improved by reducing the superconducting transition temperature TC. Lowering TC reduces thermal fluctuations, resulting in a decrease of the mixer noise temperature TM. However, lower TC mixers have reduced dynamic range and saturate more easily due to background noise. We present 30 GHz microwave measurements on a bilayer HEB system, Nb–Au, in which TC can be tuned with Au layer thickness to obtain the maximum sensitivity for a given noise background. These measurements are intended as a guide for the optimization of THz mixers. Using a Nb–Au mixer with TC = 1.6 K, we obtain TM = 50 K with 2 nW of local oscillator (LO) power. Good mixer performance is observed over a wide range of LO power and bias voltage and such a device should not exhibit saturation in a THz receiver.
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Santavicca, D. F., Reulet, B., Karasik, B. S., Pereverzev, S. V., Olaya, D., Gershenson, M. E., et al. (2010). Energy resolution of terahertz single-photon-sensitive bolometric detectors. Appl. Phys. Lett., 96(8), 083505-3.
Abstract: We report measurements of the energy resolution of ultrasensitive superconducting bolometric detectors. The device is a superconducting titanium nanobridge with niobium contacts. A fast microwave pulse is used to simulate a single higher-frequency photon, where the absorbed energy of the pulse is equal to the photon energy. This technique allows precise calibration of the input coupling and avoids problems with unwanted background photons. Present devices have an intrinsic full-width at half-maximum energy resolution of approximately 23 THz, near the predicted value due to intrinsic thermal fluctuation noise.
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An, Z., Chen, J. - C., Ueda, T., Komiyama, S., & Hirakawa, K. (2005). Infrared phototransistor using capacitively coupled two-dimensional electron gas layers. Appl. Phys. Lett., 86, 172106-3.
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Barends, R., Hajenius, M., Gao, J. R., & Klapwijk, T. M. (2005). Current-induced vortex unbinding in bolometer mixers. Appl. Phys. Lett., 87, 263506 (1 to 3).
Abstract: We present a description of the current-voltage characteristics of hot electron bolometers in terms of the current-dependent intrinsic resistive transition of NbN films. We find that, by including this current dependence, we can correctly predict the complete current-voltage characteristics, showing excellent agreement with measurements for both low and high bias and for small as well as large devices. It is assumed that the current dependence is due to vortex-antivortex unbinding as described in the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless theory. The presented approach will be useful in guiding device optimization for noise and bandwidth.
Keywords: HEB mixer numerical model, HEB model, IV-curves, vortex-antivortex, Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless theory, diffusion cooling channel, diffusion channel, distributed HEB model, distributed model, self-heating effect, temperature profile
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Stevens, M., Hadfield, R., Schwall, R., Nam, S. W., Mirin, R., & Gupta, J. (2006). Fast lifetime measurements of infrared emitters using a low-jitter superconduct- ing single-photon detector. Appl. Phys. Lett., 89, 031109.
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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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Walther, C., Scalari, G., Faist, J., Beere, H., & Ritchie, D. (2006). Low frequency terahertz quantum cascade laser operating from 1.6 to 1.8 THz. Appl. Phys. Lett., 89, 231121(1–3).
Abstract: The authors report a GaAs/Al0.1Ga0.9As quantum cascade laser based on a bound-to-continuum transition optimized for low frequency operation. High tunability of the gain curve is achieved by the Stark effect and laser emission is measured between 1.6 and 1.8 THz. Pulsed mode operation up to 95 K and continuous wave operation up to 80 K are reported. The dynamical range in current is as high as 43%.
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Sekine, N., & Hosako, I. (2009). Intensity modulation of terahertz quantum cascade lasers under external light injection. Appl. Phys. Lett., 95, 201106(1–3).
Abstract: We investigated the light-current characteristics of terahertz (THz) quantum cascade lasers under external light injection, which excites interband transitions in the active materials. It was found that the amount of reduction in the THz power was constant for all injection currents above threshold, and the dependence of the reduction amount on the wavelength of the external light was observed to show a resonancelike feature. The dominant intensity modulation mechanism was found to be the loss change caused by interband transitions in the active region. Further, the effective coupling efficiency plays an important role in the intensity modulation.
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Baek, B., Lita, A. E., Verma, V., & Nam, S. W. (2011). Superconducting a-WxSi1–x nanowire single-photon detector with saturated internal quantum efficiency from visible to 1850 nm. Appl. Phys. Lett., 98(25), 3.
Abstract: We have developed a single-photon detector based on superconducting amorphous tungsten–silicon alloy (a-WxSi1–x) nanowire. Our device made from a uniform a-WxSi1–x nanowire covers a practical detection area (16 μm×16 μm) and shows high sensitivity featuring a plateau of the internal quantum efficiencies, i.e., efficiencies of generating an electrical pulse per absorbed photon, over a broad wavelength and bias range. This material system for superconducting nanowire detector technology could overcome the limitations of the prevalent nanowire devices based on NbN and lead to more practical, ideal single-photon detectors having high efficiency, low noise, and high count rates.
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