PT Unknown
AU Yngvesson, KS
   Gerecht, E
   Musante, CF
   Zhuang, Y
   Ji, M
   Goyette, TM
   Dickinson, JC
   Waldman, J
   Yagoubov, PA
   Gol’tsman, GN
   Voronov, BM
   Gershenzon, EM
TI Low-noise HEB heterodyne receivers and focal plane arrays for the THz regime using NbN
SE Proc. SPIE
PY 1999
BP 357
EP 368
VL 3795
DI 10.1117/12.370183
DE NbN HEB mixers
AB We have developed prototype HEB receivers using thin film superconducting NbN devices deposited on silicon substrates. The devices are quasi-optically coupled through a silicon lens and a self-complementary log-specific toothed antenna. We measured DSB receiver noise temperatures of 500 K (13 X hf/2k) at 1.56 THz and 1,100 K (20 X hf/2k) at 2.24 THz. Noise temperatures are expected to fall further as devices and quasi-optical coupling methods are being optimized. The measured 3 dB IF conversion gain bandwidth for one device was 3 GHz, and it is estimated that the bandwidth over which the receiver noise temperature is within 3 dB of its minimum value is 6.5 GHz which is sufficient for a number of practical applications. We will discuss our latest results and give a detailed description of our prototype setup and experiments. We will also discuss our plans for developing focal plane arrays with tens of Hot Electron Bolometric mixer elements on a single silicon substrate which will make real time imaging systems in the THz region feasible.
ER