|   | 
Details
   web
Records
Author Shurakov, Alexander; Tong, Edward; Blundell, Raymond; Gol'tsman, Gregory
Title (up) Microwave stabilization of HEB mixer by a microchip controller Type Conference Article
Year 2012 Publication IEEE MTT-S international microwave symposium digest Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-3
Keywords HEB mixer stability, microwave injection, Allan variance, Allan time
Abstract The stability of a Hot Electron Bolometer (HEB) mixer can be improved by the use of microwave injection. In this article we report a refinement of this approach. We introduce a microchip controller to facilitate the implementation of the stabilization scheme, and demonstrate that the feedback loop effectively suppresses drifts in the HEB bias current, leading to an improvement in the receiver stability. The measured Allan time of the mixer's IF output power is increased to > 10 s.
Address Montreal, QC, Canada
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 857
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Lobanov, Yury V.; Tong, Cheuk-yu E.; Hedden, Abigail S.; Blundell, Raymond; Gol’tsman, Gregory N.
Title (up) Microwave-assisted measurement of the frequency response of terahertz HEB mixers with a Fourier transform spectrometer Type Conference Article
Year 2010 Publication Proc. 21th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal Proc. 21th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue Pages 420-423
Keywords
Abstract We describe a novel method of operation of the HEB direct detector for use with a Fourier Transform Spectrometer. Instead of elevating the bath temperature, we have measured the RF response of waveguide HEB mixers by applying microwave radiation to select appropriate bias conditions. In our experiment, a microwave signal is injected into the HEB mixer via its IF port. By choosing an appropriate injection level, the device can be operated close to the desired operating point. Furthermore, we have shown that both thermal biasing and microwave injection can reproduce the same spectral response of the HEB mixer. However, with the use of microwave injection, there is no need to wait for the mixer to reach thermal equilibrium, so characterisation can be done in less time. Also, the liquid helium consumption for our wet cryostat is also reduced. We have demonstrated that the signal- to-noise ratio of the FTS measurements can be improved with microwave injection.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1394
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ryabchun, Sergey; Tong, Cheuk-yu Edward; Blundell, Raymond; Kimberk, Robert; Gol’tsman, Gregory
Title (up) Stabilisation of a terahertz hot-electron bolometer mixer with microwave feedback control Type Conference Article
Year 2007 Publication Proc. 18th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal Proc. 18th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue Pages 193-198
Keywords waveguide NbN HEB mixers, Allan variance, stability
Abstract We report on implementation of microwave feedback control loop to stabilise the performance of an HEB mixer receiver. It is shown that the receiver sensitivity increases by a factor of 4 over a 16-minute scan, and the corresponding Allan time increases up to 10 seconds, as opposed to an open loop value of 1 second. Our experiments also demonstrate that the receiver sensitivity is limited by the intermediate frequency chain.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 1421
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ryabchun, Sergey; Tong, Cheuk-Yu Edward; Blundell, Raymond; Gol'tsman, Gregory
Title (up) Stabilization scheme for hot-electron bolometer receivers using microwave radiation Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond.
Volume 19 Issue 1 Pages 14-19
Keywords HEB, mixer, Allan variance, stabilization, radiometer equation
Abstract We present the results of a stabilization scheme for terahertz receivers based on NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers that uses microwave radiation with a frequency much lower than the gap frequency of NbN to compensate for mixer current fluctuations. A feedback control loop, which actively controls the power level of the injected microwave radiation, has successfully been implemented to stabilize the operating point of the HEB mixer. This allows us to increase the receiver Allan time to 10 s and also improve the temperature resolution of the receiver by about 30% in the total power mode of operation.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1051-8223 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number RPLAB @ lobanovyury @ Serial 559
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Tong, C.-Y. Edward; Kawamura, Jonathan; Todd, R. Hunter; Papa, D. Cosmo; Blundell, Raymond.; Smith, Michael; Patt, Ferdinand; Gol'tsman, Gregory; Gershenzon, Eugene
Title (up) Successful operation of a 1 THz NbN hot-electron bolometer receiver Type Conference Article
Year 2000 Publication Proc. 11th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. Abbreviated Journal Proc. 11th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol.
Volume Issue Pages 49-59
Keywords NbN HEB mixers, applications
Abstract A phonon-cooled NbN superconductive hot-electron bolometer receiver covering the frequency range 0.8-1.04 THz has successfully been used for astronomical observation at the Sub-Millimeter Telescope Observatory on Mount Graham, Arizona. This waveguide heterodyne receiver is a modified version of our fixed-tuned 800 GHz HEB receiver to allow for operation beyond 1 THz. The measured noise temperature of this receiver is about 1250 K at 0.81 THz, 560 K at 0.84 THz, and 1600 K at 1.035 THz. It has a 1 GHz wide IF bandwidth, centered at 1.8 GHz. This receiver has recently been used to detect the CO (9-8) molecular line emission at 1.037 THz in the Orion nebula. This is the first time a ground-based heterodyne receiver has been used to detect a celestial source above 1 THz.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 303
Permanent link to this record