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Softwaretechnik-Trends

16 Pixel HEB Heterodyne Receiver for 2.5 THz

Serguei Cherednichenko, Vladimir Drakinskiy, Jean Baubert, B. Lecomte, Frederic Daupley, Jean-Michel Krieg, Y. Delorme, A. Féret, H.-W. Huebers, Alexei D. Semenov, P. Pons

Published May 1, 2006• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

A 16 pixel heterodyne receiver for 2.5 THz has been developed based on NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The receiver uses a quasioptical RF coupling approach where HEB mixers are integrated into double dipole antennas on 1.5m thick Si3N4/ SiO2 membranes. Spherical mirrors (one per pixel) and backshort distance from the antenna have been used to design the output mixer beam profile. We present here the results of the antenna simulations using HFSS and ADS, as well as the beam calculations after the collimating mirror.

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A 16 pixel heterodyne receiver for 2.5 THz has been developed based on NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The receiver uses a quasioptical RF coupling approach where HEB mixers are integrated into double dipole antennas on 1.5 mum thick Si3N4/ SiO2 membranes. Spherical mirrors (one per pixel) and backshort distance from the antenna have been used to design the output mixer beam profile. We present here the results of the antenna simulations using HFSS and ADS, as well as the beam calculations after the collimating mirror.

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Noise Temperature and Beam Pattern of a Quasioptical Heterodyne Receiver based on NbN Hot Electron Bolometer Mixer at 5.25 THz

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We report the measured sensitivities of a superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer (HEB) heterodyne receiver at 5.25 THz. The terahertz (THz) radiation is quasioptically coupled to the HEB mixer with a lens and a spiral antenna. Using a measurement setup with black body calibration sources and a beam splitter in vacuum, and an antireflection coated Si lens, we obtained a double sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature ( ) of 1150 K, which is 4.5 times h/k (the quantum limit). In addition, the measured far field beam patterns of the integrated lens antenna from 2.5 THz to 5.3 THz show collimated beams that make it reliable to measure using the vacuum setup. Our experimental results in combination with an antenna-to-bolometer coupling simulation suggest that the HEB mixer can work well at least up to 6 THz, suitable for next generation of high-resolution spectroscopic space telescopes and, in particular, for the detection of the neutral atomic oxygen (OI) line at 4.7 THz. DSB rec T

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Superconducting Hot Electron Bolometer mixers offer the highest sensitivity for heterodyne detections at frequencies above 1 THz. Important efforts have been made these recent years to further increase the HEB mixers' sensitivity and working frequency and also to design multi-pixel configuration. We present in this paper the developments of a non-standard quasi-optical membrane based HEB mixer where the commonly used focusing element, the silicon lens, is replaced by a micro-mirror and a membrane-based back-short. This configuration offers many advantages: easier processing for circuits at very high frequencies, better noise temperature brought by lower RF coupling loss and higher gain of the antenna. This design is also considered very attractive for multi-pixel receivers. The devices are made of phonon-cooled NbN HEB mixers processed on 1.4 μm thick stress-less Si3N4/Si02 membrane. Quasi-optical designs have been made for frequencies at 600 GHz and 2.5 THz. The design and the device fabrication process will be discussed and both DC and RF measurements at 600 GHz will be presented.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Sep 24, 2012•0 citations

Noise temperature and beam pattern of an NbN hot electron bolometer mixer at 5.25 THz

W. Zhang, P. Khosropanah, J. R. Gao +4 more

We report the measured sensitivities of a superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer (HEB) heterodyne receiver at 5.25 THz. Terahertz (THz) radiation is quasioptically coupled to a HEB mixer with a lens and a spiral antenna. Using a measurement setup with black body calibration sources and a beam splitter in vacuo, and an antireflection coated Si lens, we obtained a double sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature (TrecDSB) of 1150 K, which is nine times hν/2k, where h is the Planck constant, ν the frequency, and k the Boltzmann constant. In addition, the measured far field beam patterns of the integrated lens antenna show nearly collimated beams from 2.5 to 5.3 THz that allow reliable measurement of TrecDSB using the vacuum setup. Our experimental results in combination with an antenna-to-bolometer coupling simulation suggest that the HEB mixer can work well at least up to 6 THz, making it suitable for next generation of high-resolution spectroscopic space telescopes and, in particular, for the detection of the neutral atomic oxygen line at 4.7 THz.

Journal of Applied Physics•Nov 1, 2010•42 citations
A 16 pixel heterodyne receiver for 2.5 THz has been developed based on NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The receiver uses a quasioptical RF coupling approach where HEB mixers are integrated into double dipole antennas on 1.5m thick Si3N4/ SiO2 membranes. Spherical mirrors (one per pixel) and backshort distance from the antenna have been used to design the output mixer beam profile. We present here the results of the antenna simulations using HFSS and ADS, as well as the beam calculations after the collimating mirror.
A 16 pixel heterodyne receiver for 2.5 THz has been developed based on NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The receiver uses a quasioptical RF coupling approach where HEB mixers are integrated into double dipole antennas on 1.5 mum thick Si3N4/ SiO2 membranes. Spherical mirrors (one per pixel) and backshort distance from the antenna have been used to design the output mixer beam profile. We present here the results of the antenna simulations using HFSS and ADS, as well as the beam calculations after the collimating mirror.
A 16 pixel heterodyne receiver for 2.5 THz has been developed based on NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The receiver uses a quasioptical RF coupling approach where HEB mixers are integrated into double dipole antennas on 1.5μm thick Si3N4/SiO2 membranes. Spherical mirrors (one per pixel) and backshort distance from the antenna have been used to design the output mixer beam profile. The camera design allows all 16 pixel IF readout in parallel. The gain bandwidth of the HEB mixers on Si3N4/SiO2 membranes was found to be 0.7÷0.9 GHz, which is much smaller than for similar devices on silicon. Application of buffer layers and use of alternative types of membranes (e.g. silicon-on-insulator) is under investigation.
A 16 pixel heterodyne receiver for 2.5 THz has been developed based on NbN superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The receiver uses a quasioptical RF coupling approach where HEB mixers are integrated into double dipole antennas on 1.5µm thick Si3N4/SiO2 membranes. Spherical mirrors (one per pixel) and backshort distance from the antenna have been used to design the output mixer beam profile. The camera design allows all 16 pixel IF readout in parallel. The gain bandwidth of the HEB mixers on Si3N4/SiO2 membranes was found to be 0.7÷0.9 GHz, which is much smaller than for similar devices on silicon. Application of buffer layers and use of alternative types of membrandes (e.g. silicon-on-insulator) is under investigation.
We report the measured sensitivities of a superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer (HEB) heterodyne receiver at 5.25 THz. The terahertz (THz) radiation is quasioptically coupled to the HEB mixer with a lens and a spiral antenna. Using a measurement setup with black body calibration sources and a beam splitter in vacuum, and an antireflection coated Si lens, we obtained a double sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature ( ) of 1150 K, which is 4.5 times h/k (the quantum limit). In addition, the measured far field beam patterns of the integrated lens antenna from 2.5 THz to 5.3 THz show collimated beams that make it reliable to measure using the vacuum setup. Our experimental results in combination with an antenna-to-bolometer coupling simulation suggest that the HEB mixer can work well at least up to 6 THz, suitable for next generation of high-resolution spectroscopic space telescopes and, in particular, for the detection of the neutral atomic oxygen (OI) line at 4.7 THz. DSB rec T
Superconducting Hot Electron Bolometer mixers offer the highest sensitivity for heterodyne detections at frequencies above 1 THz. Important efforts have been made these recent years to further increase the HEB mixers' sensitivity and working frequency and also to design multi-pixel configuration. We present in this paper the developments of a non-standard quasi-optical membrane based HEB mixer where the commonly used focusing element, the silicon lens, is replaced by a micro-mirror and a membrane-based back-short. This configuration offers many advantages: easier processing for circuits at very high frequencies, better noise temperature brought by lower RF coupling loss and higher gain of the antenna. This design is also considered very attractive for multi-pixel receivers. The devices are made of phonon-cooled NbN HEB mixers processed on 1.4 μm thick stress-less Si3N4/Si02 membrane. Quasi-optical designs have been made for frequencies at 600 GHz and 2.5 THz. The design and the device fabrication process will be discussed and both DC and RF measurements at 600 GHz will be presented.
We report the measured sensitivities of a superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer (HEB) heterodyne receiver at 5.25 THz. Terahertz (THz) radiation is quasioptically coupled to a HEB mixer with a lens and a spiral antenna. Using a measurement setup with black body calibration sources and a beam splitter in vacuo, and an antireflection coated Si lens, we obtained a double sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature (TrecDSB) of 1150 K, which is nine times hν/2k, where h is the Planck constant, ν the frequency, and k the Boltzmann constant. In addition, the measured far field beam patterns of the integrated lens antenna show nearly collimated beams from 2.5 to 5.3 THz that allow reliable measurement of TrecDSB using the vacuum setup. Our experimental results in combination with an antenna-to-bolometer coupling simulation suggest that the HEB mixer can work well at least up to 6 THz, making it suitable for next generation of high-resolution spectroscopic space telescopes and, in particular, for the detection of the neutral atomic oxygen line at 4.7 THz.