| Records |
| Author |
Zhang, W.; Miao, W.; Zhong, J. Q.; Shi, S. C.; Hayton, D. J.; Vercruyssen, N.; Gao, J. R.; Goltsman, G. N. |
| Title |
Temperature dependence of the receiver noise temperature and IF bandwidth of superconducting hot electron bolometer mixers |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2014 |
Publication |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
Volume  |
27 |
Issue |
8 |
Pages |
085013 (1 to 5) |
| Keywords |
NbN HEB mixers |
| Abstract |
In this paper we study the temperature dependence of the receiver noise temperature and IF noise bandwidth of superconducting hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. Three superconducting NbN HEB devices of different transition temperatures (Tc) are measured at 0.85 THz and 1.4 THz at different bath temperatures (Tbath) between 4 K and 9 K. Measurement results demonstrate that the receiver noise temperature of superconducting NbN HEB devices is nearly constant for Tbath/Tc, less than 0.8, which is consistent with the simulation based on a distributed hot-spot model. In addition, the IF noise bandwidth appears independent of Tbath/Tc, indicating the dominance of phonon cooling in the investigated HEB devices. |
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0953-2048 |
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no |
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1358 |
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Trifonov, A.; Tong, C.-Y. E.; Lobanov, Y.; Kaurova, N.; Blundell, R.; Goltsman, G. |
| Title |
Photon absorption near the gap frequency in a hot electron bolometer |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2017 |
Publication |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
Abbreviated Journal |
IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. |
| Volume |
27 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
1-4 |
| Keywords |
NBN HEB mixer |
| Abstract |
The superconducting energy gap is a fundamental characteristic of a superconducting film, which, together with the applied pump power and the biasing setup, defines the instantaneous resistive state of the Hot Electron Bolometer (HEB) mixer at any given bias point on the I-V curve. In this paper we report on a series of experiments, in which we subjected the HEB to radiation over a wide frequency range along with parallel microwave injection. We have observed three distinct regimes of operation of the HEB, depending on whether the radiation is above the gap frequency, far below it or close to it. These regimes are driven by the different patterns of photon absorption. The experiments have allowed us to derive the approximate gap frequency of the device under test as about 585 GHz. Microwave injection was used to probe the HEB impedance. Spontaneous switching between the superconducting (low resistive) state and a quasi-normal (high resistive) state was observed. The switching pattern depends on the particular regime of HEB operation and can assume a random pattern at pump frequencies below the gap to a regular relaxation oscillation running at a few MHz when pumped above the gap. |
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1558-2515 |
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no |
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Serial |
1331 |
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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 |
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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1051-8223 |
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no |
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Serial |
1355 |
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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 |
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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no |
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Serial |
952 |
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| 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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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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0256-307X |
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no |
| Call Number |
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Serial |
1430 |
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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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RPLAB @ gujma @ |
Serial |
716 |
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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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RPLAB @ gujma @ |
Serial |
719 |
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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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RPLAB @ gujma @ |
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720 |
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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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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 |
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Journal Article |
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2004 |
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Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Supercond. Sci. Technol. |
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17 |
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5 |
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436-439 |
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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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Rabanus, D.; Graf, U. U.; Philipp, M.; Ricken, O.; Stutzki, J.; Vowinkel, B.; Wiedner, M. C.; Walther, C.; Fischer, M.; Faist, J. |
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Phase locking of a 1.5 terahertz quantum cascade laser and use as a local oscillator in a heterodyne HEB receiver |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Optics Express |
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17 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
1159-1168 |
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QCL heterodyne, 300 uW at 1.5 THz, HEB mixer |
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We demonstrate for the first time the closure of an electronic phase lock loop for a continuous–wave quantum cascade laser (QCL) at 1.5 THz. The QCL is operated in a closed cycle cryo cooler. We achieved a frequency stability of better than 100 Hz, limited by the resolution bandwidth of the spectrum analyser. The PLL electronics make use of the intermediate frequency (IF) obtained from a hot electron bolometer (HEB) which is downconverted to a PLL IF of 125 MHz. The coarse selection of the longitudinal mode and the fine tuning is achieved via the bias voltage of the QCL. Within a QCL cavity mode, the free-running QCL shows frequency fluctuations of about 5 MHz, which the PLL circuit is able to control via the Stark–shift of the QCL gain material. Temperature dependent tuning is shown to be nonlinear, and of the order of -16 MHz/K. Additionally we have used the QCL as local oscillator (LO) to pump an HEB and perform, again for the first time at 1.5 THz, a heterodyne experiment, and obtain a receiver noise temperature of 1741 K. |
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