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Dzardanov, A., Ekstrom, H., Gershenzon, E., Gol'tsman, G., Jacobsson, S., Karasik, B., et al. (1994). Hot-electron superconducting mixers for 20-500 GHz operation. In Proc. Int. Conf. on Millimeter and Submillimeter Waves and Appl. (Vol. 2250, pp. 276–278).
Abstract: Bolometdcmucers based on Nb and NbN superconducting thin films in the resistive state have been prepared for 20, 100 GHz and 350-500 GHz operation. The mixing mechanism is presumably of electron heating origin. Our measurements indicate that a conversion loss of about 6-8 dB can rather easily be achieved, and that the noise is reasonably low. The requirements on the operation mode and on the film parameters in order to obtain small conversion losses or even gain are discussed. For NbN films the availability of nearly 1 GHz IF bandwidth is experimentally demonstrated. NbN hot-electron mucers combined with slot-line tapered antenna on Si membrane or with double-dipole antenna on SiO^ substrate have been fabricated. The devices we study are considered to be very promising for use in heterodyne receivers from microwaves to terahertz frequencies.
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Ekstörm, H., Kollberg, E., Yagoubov, P., Gol'tsman, G., Gershenzon, E., & Yngvesson, S. (1997). Gain and noise bandwidth of NbN hot-electron bolometric mixers. Appl. Phys. Lett., 70(24), 3296–3298.
Abstract: We have measured the noise performance and gain bandwidth of 35 Å thin NbN hot-electron mixers integrated with spiral antennas on silicon substrate lenses at 620 GHz. The best double-sideband receiver noise temperature is less than 1300 K with a 3 dB bandwidth of ≈5 GHz. The gain bandwidth is 3.2 GHz. The mixer output noise dominated by thermal fluctuations is 50 K, and the intrinsic conversion gain is about −12 dB. Without mismatch losses and excluding the loss from the beamsplitter, we expect to achieve a receiver noise temperature of less than 700 K.
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Ekström, H., Karasik, B., Kollberg, E., Gol'tsman, G., & Gershenzon, E. (1995). 350 GHz NbN hot electron bolometer mixer. In Proc. 6th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 269–283).
Abstract: Superconducting NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixer devices have been fabricated and measured at 350 GHz. The HEB is integrated with a double dipole antenna on an extended crystalline quartz hyper hemispherical substrate lens. Heterodyne measurement gave a -3 dB bandwidth, mainly determined by the electron- phonon interaction time, of about 680 and 1000 MHz for two different films with Tc = 8.5 and 11 K respectively. The measured DSB receiver noise temperature is around 3000 K at 800 MHz IF frequency. The main contribution to the output noise from the device is due to electron temperature fluctuations with the equivalent output noise temperature TFL-100 K. TH, has the same frequency dependence as the IF response. The contribution from Johnson noise is of the order of T. The RF coupling loss is estimated to be = 6 dB. The film with lower Tc, had an estimated intrinsic low-frequency conversion loss = 7 dB, while the other film had a conversion loss as high as 14 dB. The difference in intrinsic conversion loss is explained by less uniform absorption of radiation. Measurements of the small signal impedance shows a transition of the output impedance from the DC differential resistance Rd=dV/dI in the low frequency limit to the DC resistance R 0 =Uoff 0 in the bias point for frequencies above 3 GHz. We judge that the optimum shape of the IV-characteristic is more easily obtained at THz frequencies where the main restriction in performance should come from problems with the RF coupling.
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Ekström, H., Karasik, B., Kollberg, E., & Yngvesson, K. S. (1994). Investigation of a superconducting hot electron mixer. In Proc. 5th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 169–188).
Abstract: Mixing at 20 GHz in niobium superconducting thin film strips in the resistive state is studied. Experiments give evidence that electron-heating is the main cause of the non linear phenomena. The requirements on the mode of operation and on the film parameters for small conversion loss and the possibility of conversion gain are discussed. Measurements indicate a minimum intrinsic conversion loss around 1 dB with a sharp drop for the lowest voltage bias-points, and a DSB mixer noise temperature between 100 and 450 K at 20 GHz. The device output noise temperature at the mixer operating point can be as low as 30-50 K. A simple theory is presented, which is based on the assumption that the small signal resistance is linearly dependent on power. This type of mixer is considered very promising for use in low-noise heterodyne receivers at THz frequencies.
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Ekstrom, H., Karasik, B., Weikle, R., Yngvesson, K. S., Gol’tsman, G., Kollberg, E., et al. (1993). Mixers using superconducting Nb films in the resistive state. In 23rd European Microwave Conf. (pp. 787–789).
Abstract: The mixing of 20 GHz radiation in a Nb superconducting film in the resistive state was studied. The experiment gave evidence of electron-heating to be the origin of the non-linear phenomenon. The requirements on the operation mode and on the film parameters in order to obtain small conversion losses or even gain are determined. Our measurements indicate a conversion loss of about 6-8 dB. The hot-electron bolometer is considered to be very promising for use in heterodyne receivers in a wide frequency range from microwaves to terahertz frequencies.
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Ekström, H., Kollberg, E., Yagoubov, P., Gol'tsman, G., Gershenzon, E., & Yngvesson, S. (1997). Phonon cooled ultra thin NbN hot electron bolometer mixers at 620 GHz. In Proc. 8th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 29–35).
Abstract: We have measured the noise performance and gain bandwidth of 35 A thin NbN hot-electron mixers integrated with spiral antennas on silicon substrate lenses at 620 GHz. A double-sideband receiver noise temperature less than 1300 K has been obtained with a 3 dB bandwidth of GHz. The gain bandwidth is 3.2 GHz. A lower noise temperature of 1100 K has been achieved with an improved set-up. The mixer output noise dominated by thermal fluctuations is about 50-60 K, and the SSB receiver and intrinsic conversion gain is about -18 and -12 dB, respectively. Without mismatch losses and excluding the loss from the beamsplitter, we expect to achieve a receiver noise temperature of less than 700 K.
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Ekström, H., Kroug, M., Belitsky, V., Kollberg, E., Olsson, H., Goltsman, G., et al. (1996). Hot electron mixers for THz applications. In E. J. Rolfe, & G. Pilbratt (Eds.), Proc. 30th ESLAB (pp. 207–210).
Abstract: We have measured the noise performance of 35 A thin NbN HEB devices integrated with spiral antennas on antireflection coated silicon substrate lenses at 620 GHz. From the noise measurements we have determined a total conversion gain of the receiver of—16 dB, and an intrinsic conversion of about-10 dB. The IF bandwidth of the 35 A thick NbN devices is at least 3 GHz. The DSB receiver noise temperature is less than 1450 K. Without mismatch losses, which is possible to obtain with a shorter device, and with reduced loss from the beamsplitter, we expect to achieve a DSB receiver noise temperature of less ‘than 700 K.
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Gol'tsman, G. N., Karasik, B. S., Okunev, O. V., Dzardanov, A. L., Gershenzon, E. M., Ekstrom, H., et al. (1995). NbN hot electron superconducting mixers for 100 GHz operation. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 5(2), 3065–3068.
Abstract: NbN is a promising superconducting material for hot-electron superconducting mixers with an IF bandwidth larger than 1 GHz. In the 1OO GHz frequency range, the following parameters were obtained for 50 /spl Aring/ thick NbN films at 4.2 K: receiver noise temperature (DSB) /spl sim/1000 K; conversion loss /spl sim/10 dB; IF bandwidth /spl sim/1 GHz; and local oscillator power /spl sim/1 /spl mu/W. An increase of the critical current of the NbN film, increased working temperature, and a better mixer matching may allow a broader IF bandwidth up to 2 GHz, reduced conversion losses down to 3-5 dB and a receiver noise temperature (DSB) down to 200-300 K.
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Gol'tsman, G., Jacobsson, S., Ekstrom, H., Karasik, B., Kollberg, E., & Gershenzon, E. (1994). Slot-line tapered antenna with NbN hot electron mixer for 300-360 GHz operation. In Proc. 5th Int. Symp. Space Terahertz Technol. (pp. 209–213a).
Abstract: NbN hot-electron mixers combined with slot-line tapered antennas on Si wdnitride membranes had been fabricated. Several strips of 1 gm wide and 5 tan long made from 100 A NbN film are inserted into the slot antenna. IV-curves under local oscillator power in 300-350 GHz frequency range and conversion gain dependencies on intermediate fre- quency in the 0.1-1 GHz range are measured and compared with that for 100 GHz frequency band. Our results show that pumped IV-curves and intermediate frequency bands are different for 100 GHz and 300 GHz frequency ranges. The interpretation exploits the fact that for the lowest radiation frequency the superconducting energy gap is larger than the radiation quantum energy while they are comparable at the higher frequency. Tha results show that such mixers have good perspectives for terahertz receiving technology.
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Karasik, B. S., Gol'tsman, G. N., Voronov, B. M., Svechnikov, S. I., Gershenzon, E. M., Ekstrom, H., et al. (1995). Hot electron quasioptical NbN superconducting mixer. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., 5(2), 2232–2235.
Abstract: Hot electron superconductor mixer devices made of thin NbN films on SiO/sub 2/-Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/-Si membrane have been fabricated for 300-350 GHz operation. The device consists of 5-10 parallel strips each 5 /spl mu/m long by 1 /spl mu/m wide which are coupled to a tapered slot-line antenna. The I-V characteristics and position of optimum bias point were studied in the temperature range 4.5-8 K. The performance of the mixer at higher temperatures is closer to that predicted by theory for uniform electron heating. The intermediate frequency bandwidth versus bias has also been investigated. At the operating temperature 4.2 K a bandwidth as wide as 0.8 GHz has been measured for a mixer made of 6 nm thick film. The bandwidth tends to increase with operating temperature. The performance of the NbN mixer is expected to be better for higher frequencies where the absorption of radiation should be more uniform.
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