Men’shchikov EM, Gogidze IG, Sergeev AV, Elant’ev AI, Kuminov PB, Gol’tsman GN, et al. Superconducting fast detector based on the nonequilibrium inductance response of a film of niobium nitride. Tech Phys Lett. 1997;23(6):486–8.
Abstract: A new type of fast detector is proposed, whose operation is based on the variation of the kinetic inductance of a superconducting film caused by nonequilibrium quasiparticles created by the electromagnetic radiation. The speed of the detector is determined by the rate of multiplication of photo-excited quasiparticles, and is nearly independent of the temperature, being less than 1 ps for NbN. Models based on the Owen-Scalapino scheme give a good description of the experimentally determined dependence of the power-voltage sensitivity of the detector on the modulation frequency. The lifetime of the quasiparticles is determined, and it is shown that the reabsorption of nonequilibrium phonons by the condensate has a substantial effect even in ultrathin NbN films 5 nm thick, and results in the maximum possible quantum yield. A low concentration of equilibrium quasiparticles and a high quantum yield result in a detectivity D*=1012 W−1·Hz1/2 at a temperature T=4.2 K and D*=1016 W−1·cm· Hz1/2 at T=1.6 K.
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Kawamura J, Blundell R, Tong C-yu E, Gol’tsman G, Gershenzon E, Voronov B, et al. Low noise NbN lattice-cooled superconducting hot-electron bolometric mixers at submillimeter wavelengths. Appl Phys Lett. 1997;70(12):1619–21.
Abstract: Lattice-cooled superconducting hot-electron bolometric mixers are used in a submillimeter-wave waveguide heterodyne receiver. The mixer elements are niobium nitride film with 3.5 nm thickness and ∼10 μm2 area. The local oscillator power for optimal performance is estimated to be 0.5 μW, and the instantaneous bandwidth is 2.2 GHz. At an intermediate frequency centered at 1.4 GHz with 200 MHz bandwidth, the double sideband receiver noise temperature is 410 K at 430 GHz. The receiver has been used to detect molecular line emission in a laboratory gas cell.
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Kawamura J, Blundell R, Tong C‐yu E, Gol’tsman G, Gershenzon E, Voronov B. Performance of NbN lattice‐cooled hot‐electron bolometric mixers. J Appl Phys. 1996;80(7):4232–4.
Abstract: The heterodyne performance of lattice‐cooled hot‐electron bolometric mixers is measured at 200 GHz. Superconducting thin‐film niobium nitride strips with ∼5 nm thickness are used as waveguide mixer elements. A double‐sideband receiver noise temperature of 750 K at 244 GHz is measured at an intermediate frequency centered at 1.5 GHz with 500 MHz bandwidth and with 4.2 K device temperature. The instantaneous bandwidth for this mixer is 1.6 GHz. The local oscillator power required by the mixer is about 0.5 μW. The mixer is linear to within 1 dB up to an input power level 6 dB below the local oscillator power. A receiver incorporating a hot‐electron bolometric mixer was used to detect molecular line emission in a laboratory gascell. This experiment unambiguously confirms that the receiver noise temperature determined from Y‐factor measurements reflects the true heterodyne sensitivity.
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Verevkin AA, Ptitsina NG, Smirnov KV, Gol’tsman GN, Gershenzon EM, Ingvesson KS. Direct measurements of energy relaxation times on an AlGaAs/GaAs heterointerface in the range 4.2–50 K. JETP Lett. 1996;64(5):404–9.
Abstract: The temperature dependence of the energy relaxation time τe (T) of a two-dimensional electron gas at an AlGaAs/GaAs heterointerface is measured under quasiequilibrium conditions in the region of the transition from scattering by acoustic phonons to scattering with the participation of optical phonons. The temperature interval of constant τe, where scattering by the deformation potential predominates, is determined. In the preceding, low-temperature region, where piezoacoustic and deformation-potential-induced scattering processes coexist, τ e decreases slowly with increasing temperature. Optical phonons start to participate in the scattering processes at T∼25 K (the characteristic phonon lifetime was equal to τLOτ4.5 ps). The energy losses calculated from the τe data in a model with an effective nonequilibrium electron temperature agree with the published data obtained under strong heating conditions.
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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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