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Baubert J, Salez M, Merkel H, Pons P, Cherednichenko S, Lecomte B, et al. IF gain bandwidth of membrane-based NbN hot electron bolometers for SHAHIRA. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond. 2005;15(2):507–10.
Abstract: SHAHIRA (Submm Heterodyne Array for HIgh-speed Radio Astronomy) is a project supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) and is designed to fly on the SOFIA observatory. A quasi-optic design has been chosen for 2.5/2.7 THz and 4.7 THz, for hydroxyde radical OH, deuterated hydrogen HD and neutral atomic oxygen OI lines observations. Hot electron bolometers (HEBs) have been processed on 1 /spl mu/m thick SiO/sub 2//Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ stress-less membranes. In this paper we analyse the intermediate frequency (IF) gain bandwidth from the theoretical point of view, and compare it to measurements.
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Jiang L, Li J, Zhang W, Yao QJ, Lin ZL, Shi SC, et al. Characterization of NbN HEB mixers cooled by a close-cycled 4 Kelvin refrigerator. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond. 2005;15(2):511–3.
Abstract: It is quite beneficial to operate superconducting hot-electron-bolometer (HEB) mixers with a close-cycled 4 Kelvin refrigerator for real applications such as astronomy and atmospheric research. In this paper, a phononcooled NbN HEB mixer (quasioptical type) is thoroughly characterized under such a cooling circumstance. The effects of mechanical vibration, electrical interference, and temperature fluctuation of a two-stage Gifford-McMahon 4 Kelvin refrigerator upon the characteristics of the phononcooled NbN HEB mixer are investigated in particular. Detailed measurement results are presented.
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Zhang W, Jiang L, Lin ZH, Yao QJ, Li J, Shi SC, et al. Development of a quasi-optical NbN superconducting HEB mixer. In: Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2005. p. 209–13.
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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Yang ZQ, Hajenius M, Baselmans JJA, Gao JR, Klapwijk TM, Voronov B, et al. Improved sensitivity of NbN hot electron bolometer mixers by vacuum baking. In: Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2005. p. 222–5.
Abstract: 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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Loudkov D, Tong C-YE, Blundell R, Kaurova N, Grishina E, Voronov B, et al. An investigation of the performance of the waveguide superconducting HEB mixer at different RF embedding impedances. In: Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2005. p. 226–9.
Abstract: 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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Loudkov D, Tong C-YE, Marrone DP, Ryabchun S, Paine SN, Blundell R. Transmission measurements of infrared filters for low-noise terahertz receiver applications. In: Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2005. p. 354–7.
Abstract: Infrared (IR) filters are very important to the efficient operation of cryogenic receivers. Usually, such filters are mounted on the radiation shield of the cryostat to reduce the heat load to the 4 K stage. Insufficient filtering may cause the temperature of the mixing element in a receiver to be excessively warm, leading to degradation in sensitivity. These filters should be effective in blocking the room temperature IR radiation from outside the cryostat, yet should be transparent across the desired signal frequency band. In the Terahertz frequency range, which is close to the infrared, it is difficult to find an inexpensive low- loss material that can provide the required IR blocking capacity. We present transmission measurements, made using a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), of a number of potential infrared filters between 0.4 and 1.6 THz. The filters tested include the widely-used, Teflon-based, Zitex-A and Zitex-G films, alkali halide based infrared filter, and crystalline quartz coated with Parylene, and polyethylene films.
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Edward Tong C-Y, Loudkov DN, Paine SN, Marrone DP, Blundell R. Vector measurement of the beam pattern of a 1.5 THz superconducting HEB receiver. In: Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2005. p. 453–6.
Abstract: Near-field vector beam pattern of the 1.5 THz superconducting Hot Electron Bolometer (HEB) receiver currently in operation in Northern Chile has been performed in our laboratory. Using an open waveguide probe, we have mapped both the amplitude and phase of the beam emerging from our 1.5 THz HEB receiver package, across a number of planes along the line of propagation of the radio-beam. With an integration time of about 100 ms per point, a signal-to-noise ratio of about 25 dB was achieved for a beam waist of 3.5 mm. These measurements have proved to be invaluable in achieving good alignment between the cryostat housing the HEB mixer and the remainder of the receiver and telescope optics. The accuracy of our beam measurement is estimated to be ±0.2 mm in position and ±5 arc minutes in angular displacement.
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Baryshev A, Baselmans JJA, Reker SF, Hajenius M, Gao JR, Klapwijk TM, et al. Direct detection effect in hot electron bolometer mixers [abstract]. In: Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2005. p. 463–4.
Abstract: NbN phonon cooled hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers are currently the most sensitive heterodyne detectors at frequencies above 1.2 THz. They combine a good sensitivity (8-15 times the quantum limit), an IF bandwidth of the order of 4-6 GHz and a wide RF bandwidth from 0.7-5.2 THz. However, for use in a space based observatory, such as Herschel, it is of vital importance that the Local Oscillator (LO) power requirement of the mixer is compatible with the low output power of present day THz LO sources. This can be achieved by reducing the mixer volume and critical current. However, the large RF bandwidth and low LO power requirement of such a mixer result in a direct detection effect, characterized by a change in the bias current of the HEB when changing the RF signal from a black body load at 300 K to one at 77 K. As a result the measured sensitivity using a 300 K and 77 K calibration load differs significantly from the small signal sensitivity relevant for astronomical observations. In this article we describe a set of dedicated experiments to characterize the direct detection effect for a small volume quasi-optical NbN phonon cooled HEB mixer. We measure the direct detection effect in a small volume (0.15 μm · 1 μm · 3.5 nm) quasi- optical NbN phonon cooled HEB mixer at 1.6 THz. We found that the small signal sensitivity of the receiver is underestimated by approximately 35% due to the direct detection effect and that the optimal operating point is shifted to higher bias voltages when using calibration loads of 300 K and 77 K. Using a 200 GHz wide band-pass filter at the 4.2 K the direct detection effect virtually disappears. Heterodyne response measurements using water vapor absorption line in a gas cell confirms the existence and a magnitude of a direct detection effect. We also propose a theoretical explanation using uniform electron heating model. This direct detection effect has important implications for the calibration procedure of these receivers in real telescope systems. We are developing Nb HEBs for a large-format, diffusion-cooled hot electron bolometer (HEB) array submillimeter camera. The goal is to produce a 64 pixel array together with the University of Arizona to be used on the HHT on Mt Graham. It is designed to detect in the 850 GHz atmospheric window. We have fabricated Nb HEBs using a new angle- deposition process, which had previously produced high quality Nb-Au bilayer HEB devices at Yale. [1] We have characterized these devices using heterodyne mixing at ~30 GHz to compare to 345 GHz tests at the University of Arizona. We can also directly compare our Nb HEB mixers to SIS mixers in this same 345 GHz system. This allows us to rigorously calibrate the system’s losses and extract the mixer noise temperature in a well characterized mixer block, before undertaking the 850 GHz system. Here we give a report on the initial devices we have fabricated and characterized. * Department of Applied Physics, Yale University ** Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona [1] Applied Physics Letters 84, Number 8; p.1404-7, Feb 23 (2004)
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Gol'tsman G, Korneev A, Minaeva O, Rubtsova I, Milostnaya I, Chulkova G, et al. Superconducting nanostructured detectors capable of single-photon counting in the THz range. In: Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2005. p. 555–7.
Abstract: 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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Goltsman G, Korneev A, Minaeva O, Rubtsova I, Chulkova G, Milostnaya I, et al. Advanced nanostructured optical NbN single-photon detector operated at 2.0 K. In: Razeghi M, Brown GJ, editors. Proc. SPIE. Vol 5732. Spie; 2005. p. 520–9.
Abstract: 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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