Abstract
Planar spiral antenna coupled and directly lens coupled NbN HEB mixer structures are studied. An additional MgO buffer layer between the superconducting film and Si substrate is introduced. The buffer layer enables us to increase the gain bandwidth of a HEB mixer due to better acoustic transparency. The gain bandwidth is widened as NbN film thickness decreases and amounts to 5.2 GHz. The noise temperature of antenna coupled mixer is 1300 and 3100 K at 2.5 and 3.8 THz respectively. The structure and composition of NbN films is investigated by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy methods. Noise performance degradation at LO frequencies more than 3 THz is due to the use of a planar antenna and signal loss in contacts between the antenna and the sensitive NbN bridge. The mixer is reconfigured for operation at higher frequencies in a manner that receiver’s noise temperature is only 2300 K (3 times of quantum limit) at LO frequency of 30 THz.
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Gol’tsman, G., Maslennikov, S., Finkel, M. et al. Nanostructured Ultrathin NbN Film as a Terahertz Hot-Electron Bolometer Mixer. MRS Online Proceedings Library 935, 210 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-0935-K02-10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-0935-K02-10