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Baselmans, J. J. A., de Visser, P. J., Yates, S. J. C., Bueno, J., Jansen, R. M. J., Endo, A., et al. (2014). Large format, background limited arrays of kinetic inductance detectors for sub-mm astronomy. In Proc. 25th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (64).
Abstract: Kinetic Inductance detectors have held a promise for the last decade to enable very large arrays, in excess of 10.000 pixels, with background limited sensitivity for ground- and Space Based sub-mm observatories. First we present the development of the detector chips of the A-MKID instrument: These chips contain up to 5400 detector pixel divided over up to 5 readout lines for the 350 GHz and 850 GHz atmospheric windows. The individual detectors are lens antenna coupled KIDs made of NbTiN and Aluminium that reach photon noise limited sensitivity at sky loading levels in excess of a few fW per pixel using either phase readout or amplitude readout. The ability to use phase readout is crucial as it reduces the requirements on the readout electronics of the instrument. Cross coupling between the KID resonators was mitigated by a combination of numerical simulations and a suitable position encoding of the readout resonance frequencies of the individual pixels. Beam pattern measurements are performed to demonstrate the absence of any cross talk due to resonator- resonator cross coupling. Second we present experiments on individual lens-antenna coupled detectors at 1.5 THz that are made out of aluminium. With these devices we have observed, as a function of the irradiated power at 1.5 THz, the crossover from photon noise limited performance to detector-limited performance at loading powers less than 0.1 fW. In the latter limit the device is limited by intrinsic fluctuations in the Cooper pair and quasiparticle number, i.e. Generation-Recombination noise. This results in a sensitivity corresponding to a NEP = 3.8·10 -19 W/√(Hz).
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Baselmans, J. J. A., Baryshev, A., Hajenius, M., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., Voronov, B., et al. (2006). Influence of the direct response on the heterodyne sensitivity of hot electron bolometer mixers. In Proc. 17th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (81).
Abstract: We present a detailed experimental study of the direct detection effect in a small volume (0.15pm x lpm) NbN hot electron bolometer mixer. It is a quasioptical mixer with a twin slot antenna designed for 700 GHz and the measurement was done at a LO frequency of 670 GHz. The direct detection effect is characterized by a change in the mixer bias current when switching broadband radiation from a 300 K hot load to a 77 K cold load in a standard Y factor measurement. The result is, depending on the receiver under study, an increase or decrease in the receiver noise temperature. We find that the small signal noise temperature, which is the noise temperature that would be observed without the presence of the direct detection effect, and thus the one that is relevant for an astronomical observation, is 20% lower than the noise temperature obtained using 300 K and 77 K calibration loads. Thus, in our case the direct detection effect reduces the mixer sensitivity. These results are in good agreement with previous measurement at THz frequencies [1]. Other experiments report an increase in mixer sensitivity [2]. To analyze this discrepancy we have designed a separate set of experiments to find out the physical origin of the direct detection effect. Possible candidates are the bias current dependence of the mixer gain and the bias current dependence of the IF match. We measured directly the change in mixer IF match and receiver gain due to the direct detection effect. From these measurements we conclude that the direct detection effect is caused by a combination of bias current reduction when switching form the 77 K to the 300 K load in combination with the bias current dependence of the receiver gain. The bias current dependence of the receiver gain is shown to be mainly caused by the current dependence of the mixer gain. We also find that an increase in receiver sensitivity due to the direct detection effect is only possible if the noise temperature change due to the direct detection is dominated by the mixer-amplifier IF match. [1] J.J.A. Baselmans, A. Baryshev, S.F. Reker, M. Hajenius, J.R. Gao, T.M. Klapwijk, Yu.Vachtomin, S. Maslennikov, S. Antipov, B. Voronov, and G. Gol'tsman., Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 163503 (2005). [2] S. Svechnokov, A. Verevkin, B. Voronov, E. Menschikov. E. Gershenzon, G. Gol'tsman, 9th Int. Symp. On Space THz. Techn., 45, (1999).
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Yang, Z. Q., Hajenius, M., Baselmans, J. J. A., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., Voronov, B., et al. (2005). Improved sensitivity of NbN hot electron bolometer mixers by vacuum baking. In Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 222–225).
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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Baryshev, A., Baselmans, J. J. A., Reker, S. F., Hajenius, M., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., et al. (2005). Direct detection effect in hot electron bolometer mixers. In Proc. 16th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 463–464).
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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Baselmans, J. J. A., Hajenius, M., Gao, J. R., Baryshev, A., Kooi, J., Klapwijk, T. M., et al. (2004). Hot electron bolometer mixers with improved interfaces: sensitivity, LO power and stability. In Proc. 15th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 17–24).
Abstract: We study twin slot antenna coupled NbN hot electron bolometer mixers with an improved contact structure and a small volume, ranging from 1 µm × 0.1 µm to 2 × 0.3 µm. We obtain a DSB receiver noise temperature of 900 K at 1.6 THz and 940 K at 1.9 THz. To explore the practical usability of such small HEB mixers we evaluate the LO power requirement, the sensitivity and the stability. We find that the LO power requirement of the smallest mixers is reduced to about 240 nW at the Si lens of the mixer. This value is larger than expected from the isothermal technique and the known losses in the lens by a factor of 3-3.5. The stability of these receivers is characterized using a measurement of the Allan Variance. We find an Allan time of 0.5 sec. in an 80 MHz bandwidth. A small increase in stability can be reached by using a higher bias at the expense of a significant amount of sensitivity. The stability is sufficient for spectroscopic applications in a 1 MHz bandwidth at a 1 Hz chopping frequency.
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Hajenius, M., Baselmans, J. J. A., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., de Korte 2, P. A. J., Voronov, B., et al. (2004). Increased bandwidth of NbN phonon cooled hot electron bolometer mixers. In Proc. 15th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 381–386).
Abstract: We study experimentally the IF gain bandwidth of NbN phonon-cooled hot-electron-bolometer (HEB) mixers for a set of devices with different contact structures but an identical NbN film. We observe that the IF bandwidth depends strongly on the exact contact structure and find an IF gain bandwidth of 6 GHz for a device with an additional superconducting layer (NbTiN) in between the active NbN film and the gold contact to the antenna. These results contradict the common opinion that the IF bandwidth is determined by the phonon-escape time between the NbN film and the substrate. Hence we calculate the IF gain bandwidth of a superconducting film using a two-temperature model. We find that the bandwidth increases strongly with operating temperature and is not limited by the phonon escape time. This is because of strong temperature dependence of the phonon specific heat in the NbN film.
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Hajenius, M., Baselmans, J. J. A., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., de Korte, P. A. J., Voronov, B., et al. (2003). Improved NbN phonon cooled hot electron bolometer mixers. In Proc. 14th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 413–423). Tucson, USA.
Abstract: NbN phonon-cooled hot electron bolometer mixers (HEBs) have been realized with negligible contact resistance to Au pads. By adding either a 5 nm Nb or a 10 nm NbTiN layer between the Au and NbN, to preserve superconductivity in the NbN under the Au contact pad, superior noise temperatures have been obtained. Using DC I,V curves and resistive transitions in combination with process parameters we analyze the nature of these improved devices and determine interface transparencies.
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Baselmans, J. J. A., Hajenius, M., Gao, J. R., Klapwijk, T. M., de Korte, P. A. J., Voronov, B., et al. (2003). Noise performance of NbN hot electron bolometer mixers at 2.5 THz and its dependence on the contact resistance. In Proc. 14th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 11–19).
Abstract: NbN hot electron bolometer mixers (HEBM) are at this moment the best heterodyne receivers for frequencies above 1 Thz. However, the fabrication procedure of these devices is such that the quality of the interface between the NbN superconducting film and the contact structure is not under good control. The result is a low transparency interface between the bolometer itself and the contact/antenna structure. In this paper we report a detailed experimental study on a novel idea to increase the transparency of this interface. This leads to a record sensitivity and more reproducible performance. We compare identical bolometers, coupled with a spiral antenna, with different NbN bolometer-contact pad interfaces. We find that cleaning the NbN interface alone results in an increase in the noise temperature. However, cleaning the NbN interface and adding a thin additional superconductor prior to the gold contact deposition improves the noise temperature of the HEBm with more than a factor of 2. A device with a contact pad on top of an in-situ cleaned NbN film consisting of 10 nm of NbTiN and 40 nm of gold has a DSB noise temperature of 1050 K at 2.5 THz.
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Gao, J. R., Hajenius, M., Baselmans, J. J. A., Klapwijk, T. M., de Korte, P. A. J., Voronov, B., et al. (2004). NbN hot electron bolometer mixers with superior performance for space applications. In E. Armandillo, & B. Leone (Eds.), Proc. Int. workshop on low temp. electronics (pp. 11–17). Noordwijk.
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Yang, Z. Q., Hajenius, M., Baselmans, J. J. A., Gao, J. R., Voronov, B., & Gol’tsman, G. N. (2006). Reduced noise in NbN hot-electron bolometer mixers by annealing. Supercond. Sci. Technol., 19(4), L (9 to 12).
Abstract: We find that the sensitivity of heterodyne receivers based on superconducting hot-electron bolometers (HEBs) increases by 25–30% after annealing at 85 °C in vacuum. The devices studied are twin-slot antenna coupled mixers with a small NbN bridge of 1 × 0.15 µm2. We show that annealing changes the device properties as reflected in sharper resistive transitions of the complete device, apparently reducing the device-related noise. 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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