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Milostnaya, I.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Slepneva, S.; Seleznev, V.; Chulkova, G.; Okunev, O.; Smirnov, K.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G.; Slysz, W.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Cross, A.; Pearlman, A.; Sobolewski, R. |
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Title |
Superconducting nanostructured detectors capable of single photon counting of mid-infrared optical radiation |
Type |
Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
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Volume |
5957 |
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Pages |
59570A (1 to 9) |
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Keywords |
SSPD, SNSPD, single-photon detectors, superconductors, superconducting |
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Abstract |
We report on our progress in research and development of ultrafast superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) based on ultrathin NbN nanostructures. Our SSPDs were made of the 4-nm-thick NbN films with Tc 11 K, patterned as meander-shaped, 100-nm-wide strips, and covering an area of 10×10 μm2. The detectors exploit a combined detection mechanism, where upon a single-photon absorption, a hotspot of excited electrons and redistribution of the biasing supercurrent, jointly produce a picosecond voltage transient signal across the superconducting nanostripe. The SSPDs are typically operated at 4.2 K, but their sensitivity in the infrared radiation range can be significantly improved by lowering the operating temperature from 4.2 K to 2 K. When operated at 2 K, the SSPD quantum efficiency (QE) for visible light photons reaches 30-40%, which is the saturation value limited by the optical absorption of our 4-nm-thick NbN film. With the wavelength increase of the incident photons,the QE of SSPDs decreases significantly, but even at the wavelength of 6 μm, the detector is able to count single photons and exhibits QE of about 10-2 %. The dark (false) count rate at 2 K is as low as 2x10-4 s,-1 which makes our detector essentially a background-limited sensor. The very low dark-count rate results in a noise equivalent power (NEP) below 10-18 WHz-1/2 for the mid-infrared range (6 μm). Further improvement of the SSPD performance in the mid-infrared range can be obtained by substituting NbN for another, lower-Tc materials with a narrow superconducting gap and low quasiparticles diffusivity. The use of such superconductors should shift the cutoff wavelength below 10 μm. |
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SPIE |
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Rogalski, A.; Dereniak, E.L.; Sizov, F.F. |
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Infrared Photoelectronics |
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1458 |
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Slysz, W.; Wegrzecki, M.; Bar, J.; Grabiec, P.; Górska, M.; Latta, C.; Zwiller, V.; Pearlman, A.; Cross, A.; Korneev, A.; Kouminov, P.; Smirnov, K.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G.; Verevkin, A.; Currie, M.; Sobolewski, R. |
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Title |
Fiber-coupled quantum-communications receiver based on two NbN superconducting single-photon detectors |
Type |
Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
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Volume |
5957 |
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Pages |
59571K (1 to 10) |
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Keywords |
SSPD, SNSPD, single-photon detectors, quantum communication, quantum cryptography, superconductors, infrared optical detectors |
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Abstract |
We present the design and performance of a novel, two-channel single-photon receiver, based on two fiber-coupled NbN superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs). The SSPDs are nanostructured superconducting meanders covering an area of 100 μm2 and are known for ultrafast and efficient counting of single, visible-to-infrared photons. Their operation has been explained within a phenomenological hot-electron photoresponse model. Our receiver is intended for fiber-based quantum cryptography and communication systems, operational at near-infrared (NIR) telecommunication wavelengths, λ = 1.3 μm and λ = 1.55 μm. Coupling between the NbN detector and a single-mode optical fiber was achieved using a specially designed, micromechanical photoresist ring, positioned directly over the SSPD active area. The positioning accuracy of the ring was below 1 μm. The receiver with SSPDs was placed (immersed) in a standard liquid-helium transport Dewar and kept without interruption for over two months at 4.2 K. At the same time, the optical fiber inputs and electrical outputs were kept at room temperature. Our best system reached a system quantum efficiency of up to 0.3 % in the NIR radiation range, with the detector coupling efficiency of about 30 %. The response time was measured to be about 250 ps and was limited by our read-out electronics. The measured jitter was close to 35 ps. The presented performance parameters show that our NIR single photon detectors are suitable for practical quantum cryptography and for applications in quantum-correlation experiments. |
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SPIE |
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Rogalski, A.; Dereniak, E.L.; Sizov, F.F. |
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Infrared Photoelectronics |
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1459 |
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Chulkova, G.; Milostnaya, I.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Voronov, B.; Okunev, O.; Smirnov, K.; Gol’tsman, G.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Cross, A.; Pearlman, A.; Sobolewski, R.; Slysz, W. |
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Title |
Superconducting nanostructures for counting of single photons in the infrared range |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. 2-nd CAOL |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 2-nd CAOL |
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2 |
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100-103 |
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Keywords |
SSPD, SNSPD |
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We present our studies on ultrafast superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) based on ultrathin NbN nanostructures. Our SSPDs are patterned by electron beam lithography from 4-nm thick NbN film into meander-shaped strips covering square area of 10/spl times/10 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. The advances in the fabrication technology allowed us to produce highly uniform 100-120-nm-wide strips with meander filling factor close to 0.6. The detectors exploit a combined detection mechanism, where upon a single-photon absorption, an avalanche of excited hot electrons and the biasing supercurrent, jointly produce a picosecond voltage transient response across the superconducting nanostrip. The SSPDs are typically operated at 4.2 K, but they have shown that their sensitivity in the infrared radiation range can be significantly improved by lowering the operating temperature from 4.2 K to 2 K. When operated at 2 K, the SSPD quantum efficiency (QE) for visible light photons reaches 30-40%, which is the saturation value limited by optical absorption of our 4-nm-thick NbN film. For 1.55 /spl mu/m photons, QE was /spl sim/20% and decreases exponentially with the increase of the optical wavelength, but even at the wavelength of 6 /spl mu/m the detector remains sensitive to single photons and exhibits QE of about 10/sup -2/%. The dark (false) count rate at 2 K is as low as 2 /spl times/ 10/sup -4/ s/sup -1/, what makes our detector essentially a background-limited sensor. The very low dark-count rate results in the noise equivalent power (NEP) as low as 10/sup -18/ WHz/sup -1/2/ for the mid-infrared range (6 /spl mu/m). Further improvement of the SSPD performance in the mid-infrared range can be obtained by substituting NbN for the other, lower-T/sub c/ superconductors with the narrow superconducting gap and low quasiparticle diffusivity. The use of such materials will shift the cutoff wavelength towards the values even longer than 6 /spl mu/m. |
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Second International Conference on Advanced Optoelectronics and Lasers |
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1461 |
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Okunev, O.; Chulkova, G.; Milostnaya, I.; Antipov, A.; Smirnov, K.; Morozov, D.; Korneev, A.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G.; Stysz, W.; Wegrzecki, M.; Bar, J.; Grabiec, P.; Gorska, M.; Pearlman, A.; Cross, A.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Sobolewski, R. |
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Title |
Registration of infrared single photons by a two-channel receiver based on fiber-coupled superconducting single-photon detectors |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. 2-nd CAOL |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 2-nd CAOL |
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2 |
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282-285 |
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Keywords |
NbN SSPD, SNSPD |
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Abstract |
Single-photon detectors (SPDs) are the foundation of all quantum communications (QC) protocols. Among different classes of SPDs currently studied, NbN superconducting SPDs (SSPDs) are established as the best devices for ultrafast counting of single photons in the infrared (IR) wavelength range. The SSPDs are nanostructured, 100 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ in total area, superconducting meanders, patterned by electron lithography in ultra-thin NbN films. Their operation has been explained within a phenomenological hot-electron photoresponse model. We present the design and performance of a novel, two-channel SPD receiver, based on two fiber-coupled NbN SSPDs. The receivers have been developed for fiber-based QC systems, operational at 1.3 /spl mu/m and 1.55 /spl mu/m telecommunication wavelengths. They operate in the temperature range from 4.2 K to 2 K, in which the NbN SSPDs exhibit their best performance. The receiver unit has been designed as a cryostat insert, placed inside a standard liquid-helium storage dewar. The input of the receiver consists of a pair of single-mode optical fibers, equipped with the standard FC connectors and kept at room temperature. Coupling between the SSPD and the fiber is achieved using a specially designed, precise micromechanical holder that places the fiber directly on top of the SSPD nanostructure. Our receivers achieve the quantum efficiency of up to 7% for near-IR photons, with the coupling efficiency of about 30%. The response time was measured to be <300 ps and it was limited by our read-out electronics. The jitter of fiber-coupled SSPDs is <35 ps and their dark-count rate is below 1 s/sup -1/. The presented performance parameters show that our single-photon receivers are fully applicable for quantum-correlation-type QC systems, including practical quantum cryptography. |
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Second International Conference on Advanced Optoelectronics and Lasers |
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1462 |
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Zhang, W.; Jiang, L.; Lin, Z. H.; Yao, Q. J.; Li, J.; Shi, S. C.; Svechnikov, S. I.; Vachtomin, Yu. B.; Antipov, S. V.; Voronov, B. M.; Kaurova, N. S.; Gol'tsman, G. N. |
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Title |
Development of a quasi-optical NbN superconducting HEB mixer |
Type |
Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
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209-213 |
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Keywords |
NbN HEB mixers |
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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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no |
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1470 |
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Author |
Yang, Z. Q.; Hajenius, M.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Gao, J.R.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G. |
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Improved sensitivity of NbN hot electron bolometer mixers by vacuum baking |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
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222-225 |
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NbN HEB mixer |
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We find that the sensitivity of heterodyne receivers based on superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) in- creases by 25 − 30% after baking at 85 o C and in a high vacuum. The devices studied are twin-slot antenna coupled HEB mixers with a small NbN bridge of 1×0.15 μm 2 . The mixer noise temperature, gain, and resistance versus temperature curve of a HEB before and after baking are compared and analyzed. We show that baking 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 of the noise is 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 a bath temperature of 4.3 K. |
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1471 |
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Author |
Loudkov, D.; Tong, C.-Y.E.; Blundell, R.; Kaurova, N.; Grishina, E.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G. |
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An investigation of the performance of the waveguide superconducting HEB mixer at different RF embedding impedances |
Type |
Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
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226-229 |
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waveguide NbN HEB mixers |
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We have conducted an investigation of the performance of superconducting hot-electron bolometric (HEB) mixer at 800 GHz as a function of the embedding impedance of the waveguide embedding circuit. Using a single half-height mixer block, we have developed three different mixer chip configurations, offering nominal embedding resistances of 70, 35, and 15 Ohms. Both the High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) software and scaled model impedance measurements were employed in the design process. Two batches of HEB mixers were fabricated to these designs using 3-4 nm thick NbN thin film. The mixers were characterized through receiver noise temperature measurements and Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) scans. Briefly, a minimum receiver noise temperature of 440 K was measured at a local oscillator frequency 850 GHz for a mixer of normal state resistance 62 Ohms incorporated into a circuit offering a nominal embedding impedance of 70 Ohms. We conclude from our data that, for low noise operation, the normal state resistance of the HEB mixer element should be close to that of the embedding impedance of the mixer mount. |
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1472 |
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Gol'tsman, G.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Milostnaya, I.; Chulkova, G.; Voronov, B.; Smirnov, K.; Seleznev, V.; Słysz, W.; Kitaygorsky, J.; Cross, A.; Pearlman, A.; Sobolewski, Roman |
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Superconducting nanostructured detectors capable of single-photon counting in the THz range |
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Conference Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
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Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. |
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555-557 |
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NbN SSPD, SNSPD |
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We present the results of the NbN superconducting single-photon detector sensitivity measurement in the visible to mid-IR range. For visible and near IR light (0.56 — 1.3μm wavelengths) the detector exhibits 30% quantum efficiency saturation value limited by the NbN film absorption and extremely low level of dark counts (2x10 -4 s -1). The detector manifested single-photon counting up to 6 μm wavelength with the quantum efficiency reaching 10 -2 % at 5.6 μm and 3 K temperature. |
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1476 |
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Goltsman, G.; Korneev, A.; Minaeva, O.; Rubtsova, I.; Chulkova, G.; Milostnaya, I.; Smirnov, K.; Voronov, B.; Lipatov, A. P.; Pearlman, A. J.; Cross, A.; Slysz, W.; Verevkin, A. A.; Sobolewski, R. |
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Advanced nanostructured optical NbN single-photon detector operated at 2.0 K |
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Conference Article |
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2005 |
Publication |
Proc. SPIE |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. SPIE |
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Volume |
5732 |
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520-529 |
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NbN SSPD, SNSPD |
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We present our studies on quantum efficiency (QE), dark counts, and noise equivalent power (NEP) of the latest generation of nanostructured NbN superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs) operated at 2.0 K. Our SSPDs are based on 4 nm-thick NbN films, patterned by electron beam lithography as highly-uniform 100÷120-nm-wide meander-shaped stripes, covering the total area of 10x10 μm2 with the meander filling factor of 0.7. Advances in the fabrication process and low-temperature operation lead to QE as high as 30-40% for visible-light photons (0.56 μm wavelength)-the saturation value, limited by optical absorption of the NbN film. For 1.55 μm photons, QE was 20% and decreased exponentially with the wavelength reaching 0.02% at the 5-μm wavelength. Being operated at 2.0-K temperature the SSPDs revealed an exponential decrease of the dark count rate, what along with the high QE, resulted in the NEP as low as 5x10-21 W/Hz-1/2, the lowest value ever reported for near-infrared optical detectors. The SSPD counting rate was measured to be above 1 GHz with the pulse-to-pulse jitter below 20 ps. Our nanostructured NbN SSPDs operated at 2.0 K significantly outperform their semiconducting counterparts and find practical applications ranging from noninvasive testing of CMOS VLSI integrated circuits to ultrafast quantum communications and quantum cryptography. |
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Spie |
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Razeghi, M.; Brown, G.J. |
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Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices II |
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1478 |
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Gao, J. R.; Hajenius, M.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Yang, Z. Q.; Baryshev, A. M.; Barends, R.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Voronov, B.; Gol'tsman, G.; Callaos, N. |
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Twin-slot antenna coupled NbN hot electron bolometer mixers for space applications |
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Conference Article |
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2005 |
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Proc. 9-th WMSCI |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. 9-th WMSCI |
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9 |
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148-153 |
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NbN HEB mixers |
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International Institute of Informatics and Systemics |
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9806560639, 9789806560635 |
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9th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics |
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1480 |
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