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Gerecht E, Musante CF, Zhuang Y, Yngvesson KS, Gol’tsman GN, Voronov BM, et al. NbN hot electron bolometric mixerss—a new technology for low-noise THz receivers. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond. 1999;47(12):2519–27.
Abstract: New advances in hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers have recently resulted in record-low receiver noise temperatures at terahertz frequencies. We have developed quasi-optically coupled NbN HEB mixers and measured noise temperatures up to 2.24 THz, as described in this paper. We project the anticipated future performance of such receivers to have even lower noise temperature and local-oscillator power requirement as well as wider gain and noise bandwidths. We introduce a proposal for integrated focal plane arrays of HEB mixers that will further increase the detection speed of terahertz systems.
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Cherednichenko S, Kroug M, Yagoubov P, Merkel H, Kollberg E, Yngvesson KS, et al. IF bandwidth of phonon cooled HEB mixers made from NbN films on MgO substrates. In: Proc. 11th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.; 2000. p. 219–27.
Abstract: An investigation of gain and noise bandwidth of phonon-cooled hot-electron bolometric (HEB) mixers is presented. The radiation coupling to the mixers is quasioptical through either a spiral or twin-slot antenna. A maximum gain bandwidth of 4.8 GHz is obtained for mixers based on a 3.5 nm thin NbN film with Tc= 10 K. The noise bandwidth is 5.6 GHz, at the moment limited by parasitic elements in the, device mount fixture. At 0.65 THz the DSB receiver noise temperature is 700-800 К in the IF band 1-2 GHz, and 1150-2700 К in the band 3.5-7 GHz.
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Huebers H-W, Semenov A, Schubert J, Gol’tsman GN, Voronov BM, Gershenzon EM, et al. NbN hot-electron bolometer as THz mixer for SOFIA. In: Melugin RK, Roeser H-P, editors. Proc. SPIE. Vol 4014. SPIE; 2000. p. 195–202.
Abstract: Heterodyne receivers for applications in astronomy need quantum limited sensitivity. We have investigated phonon- cooled NbN hot electron bolometric mixers in the frequency range from 0.7 THz to 5.2 THz. The devices were 3.5 nm thin films with an in-plane dimension of 1.7 X 0.2 micrometers 2 integrated in a complementary logarithmic spiral antenna. The best measured DSB receiver noise temperatures are 1300 K (0.7 THz), 2000 K (1.4 THz), 2100 K (1.6 THz), 2600 K (2.5 THz), 4000 K (3.1 THz), 5600 K (4.3 THz), and 8800 K (5.2 THz). The sensitivity fluctuation, the long term stability, and the antenna pattern were measured. The results demonstrate that this mixer is very well suited for GREAT, the German heterodyne receiver for SOFIA.
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Hübers H-W, Schubert J, Krabbe A, Birk M, Wagner G, Semenov A, et al. Parylene anti-reflection coating of a quasi-optical hot-electron-bolometric mixer at terahertz frequencies. Infrared Physics & Technology. 2001;42(1):41–7.
Abstract: Parylene C was investigated as anti-reflection coating for silicon at terahertz frequencies. Measurements with a Fourier-transform spectrometer show that the transmittance of pure silicon can be improved by about 30% when applying a layer of Parylene C with a quarter wavelength optical thickness. The 10% bandwidth of this coating extends from 1.5 to 3 THz for a center frequency of 2.3–2.5 THz, where the transmittance is constant. Heterodyne measurements demonstrate that the noise temperature of a hot-electron-bolometric mixer can be reduced significantly by coating the silicon lens of the hybrid antenna with a quarter wavelength Parylene C layer. Compared to the same mixer with an uncoated lens the improvement is about 30% at a frequency of 2.5 THz.
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Gol’tsman G, Okunev O, Chulkova G, Lipatov A, Dzardanov A, Smirnov K, et al. Fabrication and properties of an ultrafast NbN hot-electron single-photon detector. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond. 2001;11(1):574–7.
Abstract: A new type of ultra-high-speed single-photon counter for visible and near-infrared wavebands based on an ultrathin NbN hot-electron photodetector (HEP) has been developed. The detector consists of a very narrow superconducting stripe, biased close to its critical current. An incoming photon absorbed by the stripe produces a resistive hotspot and causes an increase in the film’s supercurrent density above the critical value, leading to temporary formation of a resistive barrier across the device and an easily measurable voltage pulse. Our NbN HEP is an ultrafast (estimated response time is 30 ps; registered time, due to apparatus limitations, is 150 ps), frequency unselective device with very large intrinsic gain and negligible dark counts. We have observed sequences of output pulses, interpreted as single-photon events for very weak laser beams with wavelengths ranging from 0.5 /spl mu/m to 2.1 /spl mu/m and the signal-to-noise ratio of about 30 dB.
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