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arXiv:1412.5370 · IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

Wide-Range Bolometer With RF Readout TES

S. V. Shitov, Michael Siegel, Nikolay N. Abramov, Artem A. Kuzmin, Michael Merker, Matthias Arndt, S. Wünsch, Konstantin S. Ilin, Eugene V. Erhan, Alexey Vladimirovich Ustinov

Published Dec 22, 2014• 7 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

To improve both scalability and noise-filtering capability of a transition-edge sensor (TES), a new concept of a thin-film detector is suggested, which is based on embedding a microbridge TES into a high-Q planar GHz-range resonator weakly coupled to a 50-Ω-readout transmission line. Such a TES element is designed as a hot-electron microbolometer coupled to a THz-range antenna and as a load of the resonator at the same time. A weak THz signal coupled to the antenna heats the microbridge TES, thus reducing the quality factor of the resonator and leading to a power increment in the readout line. The power-to-power conversion gain, an essential figure of merit, is estimated to be above 10. To demonstrate the basic concept, we fabricated and tested a few submicrometer-sized devices from Nb thin films for operation temperature about 5 K. The dc and RF characterization of the new device is made at a resonator frequency about 5.8 GHz. A low-noise high-electron mobility transistor amplifier is used in our TES experiments without the need for a SQUID readout. The optical sensitivity to blackbody radiation within the frequency band 600-700 GHz ismeasured as (2.7 ± 0.9) × 10-14W/√Hz at Tc≈ 5 K at bath temperature ≈1.5 K.

DOI
10.1109/tasc.2014.2385090

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To improve both scalability and noise-filtering capability of a transition-edge sensor (TES), a new concept of a thin-film detector is suggested, which is based on embedding a microbridge TES into a high-Q planar GHz-range resonator weakly coupled to a 50-Ω-readout transmission line. Such a TES element is designed as a hot-electron microbolometer coupled to a THz-range antenna and as a load of the resonator at the same time. A weak THz signal coupled to the antenna heats the microbridge TES, thus reducing the quality factor of the resonator and leading to a power increment in the readout line. The power-to-power conversion gain, an essential figure of merit, is estimated to be above 10. To demonstrate the basic concept, we fabricated and tested a few submicrometer-sized devices from Nb thin films for operation temperature about 5 K. The dc and RF characterization of the new device is made at a resonator frequency about 5.8 GHz. A low-noise high-electron mobility transistor amplifier is used in our TES experiments without the need for a SQUID readout. The optical sensitivity to blackbody radiation within the frequency band 600-700 GHz ismeasured as (2.7 ± 0.9) × 10-14W/√Hz at Tc≈ 5 K at bath temperature ≈1.5 K.
Our new detector and readout concept brings together TES (Transition Edge Sensor) and MKID (Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector) technologies and exploits the idea of a microwave-induced superconducting transition in a small thin-film microbridge. The superconducting transition of the bridge manifests itself as variation in the Q -factor of niobium resonators at 5-8 GHz, somewhat similar to MKID operation. We present data showing the potential for developing this concept into multipixel detector arrays. Single-pixel sensitivity was measured at 4.5 K for an input band of 600-700 GHz using a prototype 10-nm-thick Nb bridge of size 1 μm × 500 nm. Radiation from human skin was detected with a resolution better than 1 K/rtHz, which is encouraging for terahertz imaging applications. To further improve device sensitivity, we are also developing Hf-based devices that operate near 0.35 K. Details about the physics and stability of these devices are discussed.
We propose a new detection technique based on radio-frequency (RF) bias and readout of an antenna-coupled superconducting nanobolometer. This approach is suitable for Frequency-Division-Multiplexing (FDM) readout of large arrays using broadband low-noise RF amplifier. We call this new detector RFTES. This feasibility study was made on demonstrator devices which are made in all-Nb technology and operate at 4.2 K. The studied RFTES devices consist of an antenna-coupled superconducting nanobolometer made of ultrathin niobium films with transition temperature Tc = 5.2 K. The 0.65-THz antenna and nanobolometer are embedded as a load into a GHz-range coplanar niobium resonator (Tc = 8.9 K, Q = 4000). To heat the superconducting Nb nanobolometer close to the Tc, the RF power at resonator frequency f = 5.8 GHz is applied via a transmission line which is weakly coupled (-11 dB) to the loaded resonator. The THz-antenna of RFTES was placed in the focus of a sapphire immersion lens inside a He4-cryostat equipped with an optical window and a semiconductor RF amplifier. We have demonstrated optical response of the RFTES to THz radiation. The demonstrator receiver system employing the RFTES device showed an optical Noise-Equivalent Power (NEP) 1e-14 W/sqrt(Hz) at 4.2 K.
We discuss an implementation of a hot-electron transition-edge sensor (TES) capable of counting THz photons. The main need for such a THz calorimeter is spectroscopy on future space telescopes with a background limited NEP/spl sim/10/sup -20/ W/Hz/sup 1/2/. The micromachined bolometers will unlikely reach such sensitivity at temperatures above 10 mK. The hot-electron TES with sufficient sensitivity will still have a time constant /spl sim/0.1-1.0 ms that is too short for integrating a flux of THz background photons arriving at a rate of <100 s/sup -1/. The Hot-Electron Photon Counter based on a submicron-size superconducting Ti bridge with Nb Andreev contacts will be able to detect individual photons above 170 GHz due to its very low heat capacity. A discrimination of the low energy fluctuations with a threshold device would allow for realization of an NEP/spl sim/10/sup -20/ W/Hz/sup 1/2/ at /spl ges/1 THz while operating at 300 mK. With the sensor time constant of a few microseconds, the dynamic range is /spl sim/30-40 dB. A compact array of the antenna-coupled counters can be fabricated on a silicon wafer without membranes.
We report on the measurement of a very low noise equivalent power of 3×10−19 W/Hz1/2 at 620 GHz in a superconducting antenna-coupled hot-electron bolometer. The sensing element is a micron-size titanium transition-edge sensor with NbTiN superconducting contacts fabricated on a sapphire substrate. The high sensitivity is due to the small device volume, low operating temperature, and weak electron-phonon coupling in titanium film. Measurements were done using a cryogenic black body emitter producing well-controlled femtowatt power levels. The achieved optical sensitivity is suitable for the low-background spectroscopy of molecular lines on next generation space telescopes.
The results of pioneering experiments on using a new method of microwave recording the bolometric response from a metal film near its superconducting transition edge are analyzed. Experiments are carried out at 4.5 K using a thin-film niobium absorber with a critical temperature of 6.7 K. The validity of the adopted electrodynamic model is confirmed. The chip contains a miniature antenna tuned to approximately 600 GHz and integrated into a planar resonator with a frequency of 6 GHz, which is weakly coupled with a pump line. Based on the experimental and model data, the presence of electrothermal feedback is shown, stability criteria are found, and I–V characteristics at microwaves are obtained. Bulk experimental samples with an absorber measuring 5 μm × 2.5 μm × 15 nm are fabricated with optical photolithography. At an amplifier channel noise of 3 K, the optical sensitivity of a prototype receiver can be expected at a level of 10 −15 W/Hz 1/2 .
We present a new device concept for a mixer element for THz frequencies. This uses a superconducting transition-edge microbridge biased at the center of its superconducting transition near 4.2 K. It is fed from an antenna or waveguide structure. Power from a local oscillator and a rf signal produce a temperature and resulting resistance variation at the difference frequency. The new aspect is the use of a very short bridge in which rapid (<0.1 ns) outdiffusion of hot electrons occurs. This gives large intermediate frequency (if) response. The mixer offers ≊4 GHz if bandwidth, ≊80 Ω rf resistive impedance, good match to the if amplifier, and requires only 1–20 nW of local oscillator power. The upper rf frequency is determined by antenna or waveguide properties. Predicted mixer conversion efficiency is 1/8, and predicted double-sideband receiver noise temperatures are 260 and 90 K for transition widths of 0.1 and 0.5 Tc, respectively.