Meledin DV, Marrone DP, Tong C-YE, Gibson H, Blundell R, Paine SN, et al. A 1-THz superconducting hot-electron-bolometer receiver for astronomical observations. IEEE Trans Microwave Theory Techn. 2004;52(10):2338–43.
Abstract: In this paper, we describe a superconducting hot-electron-bolometer mixer receiver developed to operate in atmospheric windows between 800-1300 GHz. The receiver uses a waveguide mixer element made of 3-4-nm-thick NbN film deposited over crystalline quartz. This mixer yields double-sideband receiver noise temperatures of 1000 K at around 1.0 THz, and 1600 K at 1.26 THz, at an IF of 3.0 GHz. The receiver was successfully tested in the laboratory using a gas cell as a spectral line test source. It is now in use on the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory terahertz test telescope in northern Chile.
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Meledin D, Tong C-YE, Blundell R, Goltsman G. Measurement of intermediate frequency bandwidth of hot electron bolometer mixers at terahertz frequency range. IEEE Microw Wireless Compon Lett. 2003;13(11):493–5.
Abstract: We have developed a new experimental setup for measuring the IF bandwidth of superconducting hot electron bolometer mixers. In our measurement system we use a chopped hot filament as a broadband signal source, and can perform a high-speed IF scan with no loss of accuracy when compared to coherent methods. Using this technique we have measured the 3 dB IF bandwidth of hot electron bolometer mixers, designed for THz frequency operation, and made from 3-4 nm thick NbN film deposited on an MgO buffer layer over crystalline quartz.
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Tong C-YE, Meledin D, Loudkov D, Blundell R, Erickson N, Kawamura J, et al. A 1.5 THz Hot-Electron Bolometer mixer operated by a planar diode based local oscillator. In: IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Digest. Vol 2.; 2003. p. 751–4.
Abstract: We have developed a 1.5 THz superconducting NbN Hot-Electron Bolometer mixer. It is operated by an all-solid-state Local Oscillator comprising of a cascade of 4 planar doublers following an MMIC based W-band power amplifier. The threshold available pump power is estimated to be 1 /spl mu/W.
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Kawamura J, Tong C-YE, Blundell R, Papa DC, Hunter TR, Patt F, et al. Terahertz-frequency waveguide NbN hot-electron bolometer mixer. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond. 2001;11(1):952–4.
Abstract: We have developed a low-noise waveguide heterodyne receiver for operation near 1 THz using phonon-cooled NbN hot-electron bolometers. The mixer elements are submicron-sized microbridges of 4 nm-thick NbN film fabricated on a quartz substrate. Operating at a bath temperature of 4.2 K, the double-sideband receiver noise temperature is 760 K at 1.02 THz and 1100 K at 1.26 THz. The local oscillator is provided by solid-state sources, and power measured at the source is less than 1 /spl mu/W. The intermediate frequency bandwidth exceeds 2 GHz. The receiver was used to make the first ground-based heterodyne detection of a celestial spectroscopic line above 1 THz.
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Tong CE, Blundell R, Papa DC, Smith M, Kawamura J, Gol'tsman G, et al. An all solid-state superconducting heterodyne receiver at terahertz frequencies. IEEE Microw Guid Wave Lett. 1999;9(9):366–8.
Abstract: A superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixer-receiver operating from 1 to 1.26 THz has been developed. This heterodyne receiver employs two solid-state local oscillators each consisting of a Gunn oscillator followed by two stages of varactor frequency multiplication. The measured receiver noise temperature is 1350 K at 1.035 THz and 2700 K at 1.26 THz. This receiver demonstrates that tunable solid-state local oscillators, supplying only a few micro-watts of output power, can be used in terahertz receiver applications.
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