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Goltsman, G. N. (2021). Development and applications of terahertz hot electron bolometers. In 1st Moscow Int. Conf. on Submillimeter and Millimeter Astronomy: Objectives and Instruments.
Abstract: The development of techniques and technologies for the deposition of ultrathin superconducting films, the creation of superconducting structures on a nanometer scale is the basis of significant progress in the field of superconducting receiving systems. Ultrathin NbN films are the basis for a wide range of record-breaking hot electron devices: direct and heterodyne terahertz detectors. Terahertz receivers are especially in demand in high-resolution spectroscopy for astronomical, atmospheric, and medical research. HEB receivers are widely used in terahertz radio astronomy. For example, the Dutch SRON Institute is preparing a project for the GUSTO hot air balloon telescope with a HEB mixer array at 1.4 THz and 1.9 THz. A 5-meter Chinese terahertz telescope DATE5 with HEB mixers at 1.4 THz is installed at the South Pole. The Stratospheric Observatory (SOFIA) uses HEB mixer matrices in the GREAT instrument operating in the 1.2 – 4.7 THz range. It is planned to implement the international project Origins Space Telescope (OST) in the far infrared region based on HEB receivers. The Japanese project Smiles-2 will allow measurements at 1.8 THz in the upper layers of the stratosphere and mesosphere. The development of the Millimetron space observatory continues in Russia.
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Shcherbatenko, M., Lobanov, Y., Finkel, M., Maslennikov, S., Pentin, I., Semenov, A., et al. (2014). Development of a 30 THz heterodyne receiver based on a hot-electron-bolometer mixer. In Proc. 25th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (122).
Abstract: We present new Hot-Electron-Bolometer (HEB) mixers designed for mid-IR spectroscopy targeting astrophysical and geophysical observations where high sensitivity and spectral resolution are required. The mixers are made of an ultrathin NbN film deposited on GaAs substrates. Two entirely different types of the devices have been fabricated. The first type is based on a direct radiation coupling concept and the mixing devices are shaped as squares of 5×5 μm 2 (which corresponds to the diffraction limit at the chosen wavelength) and 10×10 μm 2 (which was used to establish a possible influence of the contact pads on the radiation absorption). The second type utilizes a spiral antenna designed with HFSS. The fabrication and layout of the devices as well as the performance comparison will be presented. During the experiments, the HEB mixer was installed on the cold plate of a LHe cryostat. A germanium window and an extended semi-spherical germanium lens are used to couple the radiation. The cryostat is equipped with a germanium optical filter of thickness 0.5 mm and with a center wavelength of 10.6 mμ. The incident power absorption is measured by using the isothermal method. As a Local Oscillator, a 10.6 micrometers line of a CO2 gas laser is used. We further characterize the frequency response of the spiral antenna with a FIR-spectrometer. The noise characteristics of the mixers are determined from a room temperature cold load and a heated black body at ~600 K as a hot load.
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Zhang, W., Jiang, L., Lin, Z. H., Yao, Q. J., Li, J., Shi, S. C., et al. (2005). Development of a quasi-optical NbN superconducting HEB mixer. In Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 209–213).
Abstract: In this paper, we report the performance of a quasi-optical NbN superconducting HEB (hot electron bolometer) mixer measured at 500 and 850GHz. The quasi-optical NbN superconducting HEB mixer is cryogenically cooled by a 4-K close-cycled refrigerator. Measured receiver noise temperature at 850 and 500GHz are 3000K and 2500K respectively with wire grid as beamsplitter, while the lowest receiver noise temperature is found to be approximately 1200K with Mylar film. The theoretical receiver noise temperature (taking into account the elliptical polarization of log-spiral antenna) is consistent with measured one. The receiver noise temperature and conversion gain with 15-μm Mylar film as the beamsplitter at 500GHz are thoroughly investigated for different LO pumping levels and dc biases. The stability of the mixer’s IF output power is also demonstrated.
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Trifonov, A., Tong, C. - Y. E., Grimes, P., Lobanov, Y., Kaurova, N., Blundell, R., et al. (2017). Development of a silicon membrane-based multipixel hot electron bolometer receiver. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 27(4), 1–5.
Abstract: We report on the development of a multipixel hot electron bolometer (HEB) receiver fabricated using silicon membrane technology. The receiver comprises a 2 × 2 array of four HEB mixers, fabricated on a single chip. The HEB mixer chip is based on a superconducting NbN thin-film deposited on top of the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. The thicknesses of the device layer and handling layer of the SOI substrate are 20 and 300 μm, respectively. The thickness of the device layer is chosen such that it corresponds to a quarter-wave in silicon at 1.35 THz. The HEB mixer is integrated with a bow-tie antenna structure, in turn designed for coupling to a circular waveguide, fed by a monolithic drilled smooth-walled horn array.
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Romanov, N. R., Zolotov, P. I., & Smirnov, K. V. (2019). Development of disordered ultra-thin superconducting vanadium nitride films. In Proc. 8th Int. Conf. Photonics and Information Optics (pp. 425–426).
Abstract: We present the results of development and research of superconducting vanadium nitride VN films ~10 nm thick having different level of disorder. It is showed that both silicon substrate temperature T sub in process of magnetron sputtering and total gas pressure P affect superconducting transition temperature of sputtered films and R 300 /R 20 ratio defining their level of disorder. VN films suitable for development of superconducting single-photon detectors on their basis are obtained.
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