PT Unknown
AU Baubert, J
   Salez, M
   Delorme, Y
   Pons, P
   Goltsman, G
   Merkel, H
   Leconte, B
TI Membrane-based HEB mixer for THz applications
SE Proc. SPIE
PY 2003
BP 551
EP 562
VL 5116
DI 10.1117/12.499158
DE membrane NbN HEB mixers; heterodyne receiver; stress-less membrane; coupling efficiency; submillimeter-waves frequency; low-cost space applications
AB We report in this paper a new concept for 2.7 THz superconducting Niobium nitride (NbN) Hot-Electron Bolometer mixer (HEB). The membrane process was developped for space telecommnunication applications a few years ago and the HEB mixer concept is now considered as the best choice for low-noise submillimeter-wave frequency heterodyne receivers. The idea is then to join these two technologies. The novel fabrication scheme is to fabricate a NbN HEB mixer on a 1 μm thick stress-less Si[sub:3]N[sub:4]/SiO[sub:2] membrane. This seems to present numerous improvements concerning : use at higher RF frequencies, power coupling efficiency, HEB mixer sensitivity, noise temperature, and space applications. This work is to be continued within the framework of an ESA TRP project, a 2.7 THz heterodyne camera with numerous applications including a SOFIA airborne receiver. This paper presents the whole fabrication process, the validation tests and preliminary results. Membrane-based HEB mixer theory is currently being investigated and further tests such as heterodyne and Fourier transform spectrometry measurement are planed shortly.
ER