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Gerecht E, Musante CF, Jian H, Zhuang Y, Yngvesson KS, Dickinson J, et al. Improved characteristics of NbN HEB mixers integrated with log-periodic antennas. In: Proc. 10th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 1999. p. 200–7.
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Il'in KS, Gol'tsman GN, Voronov BM, Sobolewski R. Characterization of the electron energy relaxation process in NbN hot-electron devices. In: Proc. 10th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 1999. p. 390–7.
Abstract: We report on transient measurements of electron energy relaxation in NbN films with 300-fs time resolution. Using an electro-optic sampling technique, we have studied the photoresponse of 3.5-nm-thick NbN films deposited on sapphire substrates and exposed to 100-fs-wide optical pulses. Our experimental data analysis was based on the two-temperature model and has shown that in our films at the superconducting transition 10.5 K the inelastic electron-phonon scattering time was about (111}+-__.2) ps. This response time indicated that the maximum intermediate-frequency band of a NbN hot-electron phonon-cooled mixer should reach (16+41-3) GHz if one eliminates the bolometric phonon-heating effect. We have suggested several ways to increase the effectiveness of phonon cooling to achieve the above intrinsic value of the NbN mixer bandwidth.
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Blundell R, Kawamura JH, Tong CE, Papa DC, Hunter TR, Gol’tsman GN, et al. A hot-electron bolometer mixer receiver for the 680-830 GHz frequency range. In: Proc. 6-th Int. Conf. Terahertz Electron. IEEE; 1998. p. 18–20.
Abstract: We describe a heterodyne receiver designed to operate in the partially transparent atmospheric windows centered on 680 and 830 GHz. The receiver incorporates a niobium nitride thin film, cooled to 4.2 K, as the phonon-cooled hot-electron mixer element. The double sideband receiver noise, measured over the frequency range 680-830 GHz, is typically 700-1300 K. The instantaneous output bandwidth of the receiver is 600 MHz. This receiver has recently been used at the SubMillimeter Telescope, jointly operated by the Steward Observatory and the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy, for observations of the neutral carbon and CO spectral lines at 810 GHz and at 806 and 691 GHz respectively. Laboratory measurements on a second mixer in the same test receiver have yielded extended high frequency performance to 1 THz.
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Gousev YP, Olsson HK, Gol'tsman GN, Voronov BM, Gershenzon EM. NbN hot-electron mixer at radiation frequencies between 0.9 THz and 1.2 THz. In: Proc. 9th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 1998. p. 121–9.
Abstract: We report on noise temperature measurements for a NbN phonon-cooled hot-electron mixer at radiation frequencies between 0.9 THz and 1.2 THz. Radiation was coupled to the mixer, placed in a vacuum chamber of He cryostat, by means of a planar spiral antenna and a Si immersion lens. A backward-wave oscillator, tunable throughout the spectral range, delivered an output power of few 1.1W that was enough for optimum operation of the mixer. At 4.2 K ambient temperature and 1.025 THz radiation frequency, we obtained a receiver noise temperature of 1550 K despite of using a relatively noisy room-temperature amplifier at the intermediate frequency port. The noise temperature was fairly constant throughout the entire operation range and for intermediate frequencies from 1 GHz to 2 GHz.
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Semenov AD, Gousev YP, Renk KF, Voronov BM, Gol'tsman GN, Gershenzon EM, et al. Noise characteristics of a NbN hot-electron mixer at 2.5 THz. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond. 1997;7(2):3572–5.
Abstract: The noise temperature of a NbN phonon cooled hot-electron mixer has been measured at a frequency of 2.5 THz for various operating conditions. We obtained for optimal operation a double sideband mixer noise temperature of /spl ap/14000 K and a system conversion loss of /spl ap/23 dB at intermediate frequencies up to 1 GHz. The dependences of the mixer noise temperature on the bias voltage, local oscillator power, and intermediate frequency were consistent with the phenomenological description based on the effective temperature approximation.
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Svechnikov SI, Okunev OV, Yagoubov PA, Gol'tsman GN, Voronov BM, Cherednichenko SI, et al. 2.5 THz NbN hot electron mixer with integrated tapered slot antenna. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond. 1997;7(2):3548–51.
Abstract: A Hot Electron Bolometer (HEB) mixer for 2.5 THz utilizing a NbN thin film device, integrated with a Broken Linearly Tapered Slot Antenna (BLTSA), has been fabricated and is presently being tested. The NbN HEB device and the antenna were fabricated on a SiO2membrane. A 0.5 micrometer thick SiO2layer was grown by rf magnetron reactive sputtering on a GaAs wafer. The HEB device (phonon-cooled type) was produced as several parallel strips, 1 micrometer wide, from an ultrathin NbN film 4-7 nm thick, that was deposited onto the SiO2layer by dc magnetron reactive sputtering. The BLTSA was photoetched in a multilayer Ti-Au metallization. In order to strengthen the membrane, the front-side of the wafer was coated with a 5 micrometer thick polyimide layer just before the membrane formation. The last operation was anisotropic etching of the GaAs in a mixture of HNO3and H2O2.
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Gerecht E, Musante CF, Yngvesson KS, Waldman J, Gol'tsman GN, Yagoubov PA, et al. Optical coupling and conversion gain for NbN HEB mixer at THz frequencies. In: Proc. 4-th Int. Semicond. Device Research Symp.; 1997. p. 47–50.
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Verevkin AA, Ptitsina NG, Smirnov KV, Gol'tsman GN, Voronov BM, Gershenzon EM, et al. Hot electron bolometer detectors and mixers based on a superconducting-two-dimensional electron gas-superconductor structure. In: Proc. 4-th Int. Semicond. Device Research Symp.; 1997. p. 163–6.
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Gerecht E, Musante CF, Wang Z, Yngvesson KS, Waldman J, Gol'tsman GN, et al. NbN hot electron bolometric mixer for 2.5 THz: the phonon cooled version. In: Proc. 8th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 1997. p. 258–71.
Abstract: We describe an investigation of a NbN HEB mixer for 2.5 THz. NbN HEBs are phonon-cooled de-. vices which are expected, according to theory, to achieve up to 10 GHz IF conversion gain bandwidth. We have developed an antenna coupled device using a log-periodic antenna and a silicon lens. We have demon- strated that sufficient LO power can be coupled to the device in order to bring it to the optimum mixer oper- ating point. The LO power required is less than 1 microwatts as measured directly at the device. We also describe the impedance characteristics of NbN devices and compare them with theory. The experimental results agree with theory except for the imaginary part of the impedance at very low frequencies as was demonstrated by other groups.
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Semenov AD, Gousev YP, Nebosis RS, Renk KF, Yagoubov P, Voronov BM, et al. Heterodyne detection of THz radiation with a superconducting hot‐electron bolometer mixer. Appl Phys Lett. 1996;69(2):260–2.
Abstract: We report on the use of a superconducting hot‐electron bolometer mixer for heterodyne detection of terahertz radiation. Radiation with a wavelength of 119 μm was coupled to the mixer, a NbN microbridge, by a hybrid quasioptical antenna consisting of an extended hyperhemispherical lens and a planar logarithmic spiral antenna. We found, at an intermediate frequency of 1.5 GHz, a system double side band noise temperature of ≊40 000 K and conversion losses of 25 dB. We also discuss the possibilities of further improvement of the mixer performance.
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