| Records |
| 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 |
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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Edition |
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| ISSN |
1558-2515 |
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no |
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Serial |
1354 |
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| Author |
Zhang, Wen; Li, Ning; Jiang, Ling; Miao, Wei; Lin, Zhen-Hui; Yao, Qi-Jun; Shi, Sheng-Cai; Chen, Jian; Wu, Pei-Heng; Svechnikov, S. I.; Vachtomin, Y. B.; Antipov, S. V.; Voronov, B. M.; Gol'tsman, G. N. |
| Title |
Noise behaviour of a THz superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixer |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Chinese Phys. Lett. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Chinese Phys. Lett. |
| Volume |
24 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
1778-1781 |
| Keywords |
NbN HEB mixers |
| Abstract |
A quasi-optical superconducting NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixer is measured in the frequency range of 0.5–2.5 THz for understanding of the frequency dependence of noise temperature of THz coherent detectors. It has been found that noise temperature increasing with frequency is mainly due to the coupling loss between the quasi-optical planar antenna and the superconducting HEB bridge when taking account of non-uniform distribution of high-frequency current. With the coupling loss corrected, the superconducting HEB mixer demonstrates a noise temperature nearly independent of frequency. |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
0256-307X |
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no |
| Call Number |
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Serial |
1430 |
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| Author |
Zhang, W.; Miao, W.; Li, S. L.; Zhou, K. M.; Shi, S. C.; Gao, J. R.; Goltsman, G. N. |
| Title |
Measurement of the spectral response of spiral-antenna coupled superconducting hot electron bolometers |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2013 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
| Volume |
23 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
2300804-2300804 |
| Keywords |
NbN HEB detector |
| Abstract |
Measured spectral response of spiral-antenna coupled superconducting hot electron bolometers (HEBs) often drops dramatically at frequencies that are still within the frequency range of interest (e.g., ~ 5 THz). This is inconsistent with the implied low receiver noise temperatures from the same measurements. To understand this discrepancy, we exhaustively test and calibrate the thermal sources used in Fourier transform spectrometer measurements. We first investigate the absolute emission spectrum of high-pressure Hg arc lamp, then measure the spectral response of two spiral-antenna coupled NbN HEBs with a Martin-Puplett interferometer as spectrometer and 77 K blackbody as broadband signal source. The measured absolute emission spectrum of Hg arc lamp is proportional to frequency, corresponding to an equivalent blackbody temperature of 4000 K at 1 THz, 1500 K at 3 THz, and 800 K at 5 THz, respectively. Measured spectral response of spiral-antenna coupled NbN HEBs, corrected for air absorption, is nearly flat in the frequency range of 0.5-4 THz, consistent with simulated coupling efficiency between HEB and spiral-antenna. These results explain the discrepancy, and prove that spiral-antenna coupled superconducting NbN HEBs work well in a wide frequency range. In addition, this calibration method and these results are broadly applicable to other quasi-optical THz receivers. |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
1051-8223 |
ISBN |
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no |
| Call Number |
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Serial |
1371 |
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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 |
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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1051-8223 |
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no |
| Call Number |
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Serial |
1372 |
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| Author |
Tretyakov, Ivan; Ryabchun, Sergey; Finkel, Matvey; Maslennikov, Sergey; Maslennikova, Anna; Kaurova, Natalia; Lobastova, Anastasia; Voronov, Boris; Gol'tsman, Gregory |
| Title |
Ultrawide noise bandwidth of NbN hot-electron bolometer mixers with in situ gold contacts |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
21 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
620-623 |
| Keywords |
NbN HEB mixer bandwidth |
| Abstract |
We report a noise bandwidth of 7 GHz in the new generation of NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers that are being developed for the space observatory Millimetron. The HEB receiver driven by a 2.5-THz local oscillator offered a noise temperature of 600 K in a 50-MHz final detection bandwidth. As the filter center frequency was swept this value remained nearly constant up to the cutoff frequency of the cryogenic amplifier at 7 GHz. We believe that such a low value of the noise temperature is due to reduced radio frequency (RF) loss at the interface between the superconducting film and the gold contacts. We have also performed gain bandwidth measurements at the superconducting transition on HEB mixers with various lengths and found them to be in excellent agreement with the results of the analytical and numerical models developed for the HEB mixer with both diffusion and phonon cooling of hot electrons. |
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no |
| Call Number |
RPLAB @ gujma @ |
Serial |
716 |
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| Author |
Lobanov, Y.; Tong, E.; Blundell, R.; Hedden, A.; Voronov, B.; Gol'tsman, G. |
| Title |
Large-signal frequency response of an HEB mixer: from 300 MHz to terahertz |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
21 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
628-631 |
| Keywords |
waveguide NbN HEB mixers |
| Abstract |
We present a study of the large signal frequency response of an HEB mixer over a wide frequency range. In our experiments, we have subjected the HEB mixer to incident electromagnetic radiation from 0.3 GHz to 1 THz. The mixer element is an NbN film deposited on crystalline quartz. The mixer chip is mounted in a waveguide cavity, coupled to free space with a diagonal horn. At microwave frequencies, electromagnetic radiation is applied through the coaxial bias port of the mixer block. At higher frequencies the input signal passes via the diagonal horn feed. At each frequency, the incident power is varied and a family of I-V curves is recorded. From the curves we identify 3 distinct regimes of operation of the mixer separated by the phonon relaxation frequency and the superconducting energy gap frequency observed at about 3 GHz and 660 GHz respectively. In this paper, we will present observed curves and discuss the results of our experiment. |
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no |
| Call Number |
RPLAB @ gujma @ |
Serial |
719 |
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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 |
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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no |
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RPLAB @ gujma @ |
Serial |
720 |
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| Author |
Kawakami, A; Saito, S.; Hyodo, M. |
| Title |
Fabrication of nano-antennas for superconducting Infrared detectors |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
21 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
632-635 |
| Keywords |
optical antennas, NbN/MgO/NbN/TiN/Al HEB, dipole antennas, IR, infrared |
| Abstract |
To improve the response performance of superconducting infrared detectors, we have developed a fabrication process for nano-antennas. A nano-antenna consists of a dipole antenna, and a superconducting thin film strip placed in the antenna's center. By measuring the transition temperature of the superconducting strips, we confirmed that their superconductivity maintained a good condition after the nano-antenna fabrication process. We also evaluated nano-antenna characteristics using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The evaluated antenna length and width were respectively set at around 2400 nm and 400 nm, and the antennas were placed at intervals of several micrometers around the area of 1 mm2 . In an evaluation of spectral transmission characteristics, clear absorption caused by antenna effects was observed at around 1400 cm-1. High polarization dependencies were also observed. |
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no |
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Serial |
761 |
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| Author |
Semenov, A. D.; Il'in, K.; Siegel, M.; Smirnov, A.; Pavlov, S.; Richter, H.; Hübers, H.-W. |
| Title |
Evidence of non-bolometric mixing in the bandwidth of a hot-electron bolometer |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Superconductor Science and Technology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
| Volume |
19 |
Issue |
10 |
Pages |
1051-1056 |
| Keywords |
HEB |
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0953-2048 |
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no |
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Serial |
536 |
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| Author |
Ryabchun, Sergey; Tong, Cheuk-Yu Edward; Blundell, Raymond; Gol'tsman, Gregory |
| Title |
Stabilization scheme for hot-electron bolometer receivers using microwave radiation |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2009 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
| Volume |
19 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
14-19 |
| Keywords |
HEB, mixer, Allan variance, stabilization, radiometer equation |
| Abstract |
We present the results of a stabilization scheme for terahertz receivers based on NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers that uses microwave radiation with a frequency much lower than the gap frequency of NbN to compensate for mixer current fluctuations. A feedback control loop, which actively controls the power level of the injected microwave radiation, has successfully been implemented to stabilize the operating point of the HEB mixer. This allows us to increase the receiver Allan time to 10 s and also improve the temperature resolution of the receiver by about 30% in the total power mode of operation. |
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1051-8223 |
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no |
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RPLAB @ lobanovyury @ |
Serial |
559 |
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Ryabchun, Sergey; Tong, Cheuk-Yu Edward; Paine, Scott; Lobanov, Yury; Blundell, Raymond; Goltsman, Gregory |
| Title |
Temperature resolution of an HEB receiver at 810 GHz |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2009 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
| Volume |
19 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
293-296 |
| Keywords |
HEB mixer |
| Abstract |
We present the results of direct measurements of the temperature resolution of an HEB receiver operating at 810 GHz, in both continuum and spectroscopic modes. In the continuum mode, the input of the receiver was switched between black bodies with different physical temperatures. With a system noise temperature of around 1100 K, the receiver was able to resolve loads which differed in temperature by about 1 K over an integration time of 5 seconds. This resolution is significantly worse than the value of 0.07 K given by the radiometer equation. In the spectroscopic mode, a gas cell filled with carbonyl sulphide (OCS) gas was used and the emission line at 813.3537060 GHz was measured using the receiver in conjunction with a digital spectrometer. From the observed spectra, we determined that the measurement uncertainty of the equivalent emission temperature was 2.8 K for an integration time of 0.25 seconds and a spectral resolution of 12 MHz, compared to a 1.4 K temperature resolution given by the radiometer equation. This relative improvement is due to the fact that at short integration times the contribution from 1/f noise and drift are less dominant. In both modes, the temperature resolution was improved by about 40% with the use of a feedback loop which adjusted the level of an injected microwave radiation to maintain a constant operating current of the HEB mixer. This stabilization scheme has proved to be very effective to keep the temperature resolution of the HEB receiver to close to the theoretical value given by the radiometer equation. |
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no |
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Serial |
636 |
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| Author |
Yang, Z. Q.; Hajenius, M.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Gao, J. R.; Voronov, B.; Gol’tsman, G. N. |
| Title |
Reduced noise in NbN hot-electron bolometer mixers by annealing |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
| Volume |
19 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
L (9 to 12) |
| Keywords |
NbN HEB mixers |
| Abstract |
We find that the sensitivity of heterodyne receivers based on superconducting hot-electron bolometers (HEBs) increases by 25–30% after annealing at 85 °C in vacuum. The devices studied are twin-slot antenna coupled mixers with a small NbN bridge of 1 × 0.15 µm2. We show that annealing changes the device properties as reflected in sharper resistive transitions of the complete device, apparently reducing the device-related noise. 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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0953-2048 |
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no |
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1456 |
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Hajenius, M.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Gao, J. R.; Klapwijk, T. M.; de Korte, P. A. J.; Voronov, B.; Gol'tsman, G. |
| Title |
Low noise NbN superconducting hot electron bolometer mixers at 1.9 and 2.5 THz |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
| Volume |
17 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
S224-S228 |
| Keywords |
NbN HEB mixers |
| Abstract |
NbN phonon-cooled hot electron bolometer mixers (HEBs) have been realized with negligible contact resistance between the bolometer itself and the contact structure. Using a combination of in situ cleaning of the NbN film and the use of an additional superconducting interlayer of a 10 nm NbTiN layer between the Au of the contact structure and the NbN film superior noise temperatures have been obtained as low as 950 K at 2.5 THz and 750 K at 1.9 THz. Here we address in detail the DC characterization of these devices, the interface transparencies between the bolometers and the contacts and the consequences of these factors on the mixer performance. |
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0953-2048 |
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no |
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558 |
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Semenov, Alexei; Richter, Heiko; Smirnov, Konstantin; Voronov, Boris; Gol'tsman, Gregory; Hübers, Heinz-Wilhelm |
| Title |
The development of terahertz superconducting hot-electron bolometric mixers |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
| Volume |
17 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
436-439 |
| Keywords |
NbN HEB mixers |
| Abstract |
We present recent advances in the development of NbN hot-electron bolometric (HEB) mixers for flying terahertz heterodyne receivers. Three important issues have been addressed: the quality of the source NbN films, the effect of the bolometer size on the spectral properties of different planar feed antennas, and the local oscillator (LO) power required for optimal operation of the mixer. Studies of the NbN films with an atomic force microscope indicated a surface structure that may affect the performance of the smallest mixers. Measured spectral gain and noise temperature suggest that at frequencies above 2.5 THz the spiral feed provides better overall performance than the double-slot feed. Direct measurements of the optimal LO power support earlier estimates made in the framework of the uniform mixer model. |
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357 |
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| Author |
Gao, J. R.; Hajenius, M.; Yang, Z. Q.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Khosropanah, P.; Barends, R.; Klapwijk, T. M. |
| Title |
Terahertz superconducting hot electron bolometer heterodyne receivers |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
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| Volume |
17 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
252-258 |
| Keywords |
HEB, mixer, direct detection effect |
| Abstract |
We highlight the progress on NbN hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers achieved through fruitful collaboration between SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. This includes the best receiver noise temperatures of 700 K at 1.63 THz using a twin-slot antenna mixer and 1050 K at 2.84 THz using a spiral antenna coupled HEB mixer. The mixers are based on thin NbN films on Si and fabricated with a new contact-process and-structure. By reducing their areas HEB mixers have shown an LO power requirement as low as 30 nW. Those small HEB mixers have demonstrated equivalent sensitivity as those with large areas provided the direct detection effect due to broadband radiation is removed. To manifest that a HEB based heterodyne receiver can in practice be used at arbitrary frequencies above 2 THz, we demonstrate a 2.8 THz receiver using a THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) as local oscillator. |
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1051-8223 |
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RPLAB @ asmirn @ |
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557 |
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