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IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium digest

An SIS mixer for 85-116 GHz using inductively shunted edge-junctions

S.-K. Pan, Anthony R. Kerr, M. J. Feldman, Alan W. Kleinsasser, James W. Stasiak, Robert L. Sandstrom, W. J. Gallagher

Published Jan 6, 2003• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer is described that has a broadband integrated tuning structure. The mixer is tunable from 85-116 GHz, and a midband has a noise temperature of 6+or-6 K DSB (double-side-band) and unity DSB conversion gain. Referred to the mixer input flange, the receiver noise temperature is 9+or-6 K at midband. The integral tuning structure consists of a short two-wire transmission line stub with a quarter-wave superconducting transmission line as a DC and intermediate frequency (IF) block. Despite the relatively soft I-V curves of the two-junction arrays used in these mixers, low mixer noise temperature and conversion loss were achieved.>

DOI
10.1109/mwsym.1988.22075

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Progress on tunerless SIS mixers for the 200-300 GHz band

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An integrated superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer for the 200-300-GHz band with no adjustable tuning is described. A waveguide input is coupled to a coplanar mixer circuit with six individually tuned SIS junctions in series. Using the best mixer, the receiver noise temperature is 45-80 K DSB over 215-275 GHz. The mixer noise temperature at 230 GHz is 12 K DSB, and the conversion loss is 2.5 dB DSB.>

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An 85-116 GHz SIS receiver using inductively shunted edge junctions

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A superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer with a broadband integrated tuning structure is described. The mixer is tunable from 85 to 116 GHz and at 114 GHz has a noise temperature>

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The performance of a broadband SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) receiver with no mechanical tuning elements was modeled and tested. The mixer mount had a broadband-waveguide-to-microstripline transition consisting of a four-step Chebyshev single-ridge transformer. The last step of the ridge connected the waveguide to a microstripline circuit. The on-chip circuit consisted of a microstripline that transmitted the RF and the local oscillator signals to the SIS mixer. Both the SIS element and the inductor had RF grounds provided by 90 degrees radial stubs. The inductor tuned out the junction capacitance to allow operation over the full frequency band. The SIS element can be a single junction or series array using Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb trilayer tunnel junctions with areas as small as 0.5 mu m/sup 2/ and V/sub m/(2 mV)=39 mV. Preliminary results indicated a DSB receiver noise temperature of 65-80 K across the band measured at 4.4 K with an internal cryogenic RF hot/cold source and with T/sub if/=21 K. With another device, a mixer noise temperature of 35 K at 100 GHz was achieved, increasing to 45 K at 79.5 and 110 GHz. Coupled mixer gain of up to +3 dB and negative dynamic resistance on the first photon step were observed. The lowest noise temperature was obtained for an untuned single-junction mixer at 80 GHz: T/sub R/=41 K and T/sub M/=20 K were measured.

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MM wave quasioptical SIS mixers

Qing Hu, C. A. Mears, P. L. Richards +1 more

The authors have tested the performance of planar SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) mixers with log-periodic antennas at near millimeter and submillimeter wave frequencies from 90 to 360 GHz. The large omega R/sub N/C product ( approximately 10 at 90 GHz) of the Nb/NbO/sub x//Pb-In-Au junctions requires an integrated inductive tuning element to resonate the junction capacitance at the operating frequencies. Two types of integrated tuning element were used which were designed with the aid of measurements using a Fourier transform spectrometer. Preliminary results indicate that the tuning elements can give very good mixer performance up to at least 200 GHz. An inductive wire in parallel with a 5-junction array gives a minimum mixer noise temperature of 115 K (DSB) at 90 GHz with a FWHM (full width at half maximum) bandwidth of 8 GHz. An open-ended microstrip stub in parallel with a single junction gives minimum mixer noise temperatures at 150 and 200 K (DSB) near 90 and 180 GHz with FWHM bandwidths of 4 and 3 GHz, respectively. The relatively high mixer noise temperatures compared to those of waveguide SIS mixers in a similar frequency range are attributed mainly to the losses in the optical system.>

IEEE Transactions on Magnetics•Mar 1, 1989•32 citations

An SIS Mixer With 2hf/k DSB Noise Temperature at 163 - 211 GHz Band

Bhushan Billade, Alexey Pavolotsky, Victor Y. Belitsky

We present the design and the performance of a fixed-tuned, all niobium (Nb) Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) mixer covering RF frequencies from 163 to 211 GHz with 4-8 GHz IF bandwidth. The mixer uses two Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb junctions of size 3 μm2each with theRnAproduct of 30 Ω·μm2, in a twin junction configuration. An local oscillator (LO) directional coupler made of superconducting lines with slots in the ground plane is integrated on the SIS mixer chip. The isolated port of the LO coupler is terminated using a wide-band resistive load with a sheet resistance of 12 Ω/□. The SIS tuning circuitry is optimized to achieve best power match between the twin junctions and the embedding circuitry. The measurement of the double sideband mixer noise at 171 GHz shows that the receiver noise temperature is approximately 17 K, which is just 2hf/k. The estimated noise contribution from the RF loss and the IF chain at 176 GHz LO frequency is 8 K and 7.5 K respectively, resulting in a SIS mixer noise ofhf/2k. The mixer noise performance across the entire RF band varies between 19 to 25 K. This is to our knowledge the best reported noise temperature at these frequencies till now.

IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology•May 2, 2013•20 citations
A superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer is described that has a broadband integrated tuning structure. The mixer is tunable from 85-116 GHz, and a midband has a noise temperature of 6+or-6 K DSB (double-side-band) and unity DSB conversion gain. Referred to the mixer input flange, the receiver noise temperature is 9+or-6 K at midband. The integral tuning structure consists of a short two-wire transmission line stub with a quarter-wave superconducting transmission line as a DC and intermediate frequency (IF) block. Despite the relatively soft I-V curves of the two-junction arrays used in these mixers, low mixer noise temperature and conversion loss were achieved.>
This paper presents design and performance data for a 100-GHz waveguide superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer, which is incorporated with a twin-junction device (i.e., two identical junctions connected in parallel through a tuning inductance) and a fixed-tuned broad-band waveguide mixer mount. The 100-GHz mixer is actually developed as a prototype of the 500-GHz one. The constructed 100-GHz SIS receiver results in an overall receiver noise temperature (DSB) of less than 40 K over the frequency range from 80-120 GHz, with a minimum value of just 20 K that is four times as large as the quantum limit (i.e., 4/spl planck//spl omega//k). Such a performance is comparable or even superior to those of the best mechanically tunable waveguide SIS receivers at the same frequency band. In addition, some interesting mixing behaviors related to this two-junction device are described in detail.
The performance of a broadband SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) receiver with no mechanical tuning elements was modeled and tested. The mixer mount had a broadband-waveguide-to-microstripline transition consisting of a four-step Chebyshev single-ridge transformer. The last step of the ridge connected the waveguide to a microstripline circuit. The on-chip circuit consisted of a microstripline that transmitted the RF and the local oscillator signals to the SIS mixer. Both the SIS element and the inductor had RF grounds provided by 90 degrees radial stubs. The inductor tuned out the junction capacitance to allow operation over the full frequency band. The SIS element can be a single junction or series array using Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb trilayer tunnel junctions with areas as small as 0.5 mu m/sup 2/ and V/sub m/(2 mV)=39 mV. Preliminary results indicated a DSB receiver noise temperature of 65-80 K across the band measured at 4.4 K with an internal cryogenic RF hot/cold source and with T/sub if/=21 K. With another device, a mixer noise temperature of 35 K at 100 GHz was achieved, increasing to 45 K at 79.5 and 110 GHz. Coupled mixer gain of up to +3 dB and negative dynamic resistance on the first photon step were observed. The lowest noise temperature was obtained for an untuned single-junction mixer at 80 GHz: T/sub R/=41 K and T/sub M/=20 K were measured.
The authors have tested the performance of planar SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) mixers with log-periodic antennas at near millimeter and submillimeter wave frequencies from 90 to 360 GHz. The large omega R/sub N/C product ( approximately 10 at 90 GHz) of the Nb/NbO/sub x//Pb-In-Au junctions requires an integrated inductive tuning element to resonate the junction capacitance at the operating frequencies. Two types of integrated tuning element were used which were designed with the aid of measurements using a Fourier transform spectrometer. Preliminary results indicate that the tuning elements can give very good mixer performance up to at least 200 GHz. An inductive wire in parallel with a 5-junction array gives a minimum mixer noise temperature of 115 K (DSB) at 90 GHz with a FWHM (full width at half maximum) bandwidth of 8 GHz. An open-ended microstrip stub in parallel with a single junction gives minimum mixer noise temperatures at 150 and 200 K (DSB) near 90 and 180 GHz with FWHM bandwidths of 4 and 3 GHz, respectively. The relatively high mixer noise temperatures compared to those of waveguide SIS mixers in a similar frequency range are attributed mainly to the losses in the optical system.>
We present the design and the performance of a fixed-tuned, all niobium (Nb) Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) mixer covering RF frequencies from 163 to 211 GHz with 4-8 GHz IF bandwidth. The mixer uses two Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb junctions of size 3 μm2each with theRnAproduct of 30 Ω·μm2, in a twin junction configuration. An local oscillator (LO) directional coupler made of superconducting lines with slots in the ground plane is integrated on the SIS mixer chip. The isolated port of the LO coupler is terminated using a wide-band resistive load with a sheet resistance of 12 Ω/□. The SIS tuning circuitry is optimized to achieve best power match between the twin junctions and the embedding circuitry. The measurement of the double sideband mixer noise at 171 GHz shows that the receiver noise temperature is approximately 17 K, which is just 2hf/k. The estimated noise contribution from the RF loss and the IF chain at 176 GHz LO frequency is 8 K and 7.5 K respectively, resulting in a SIS mixer noise ofhf/2k. The mixer noise performance across the entire RF band varies between 19 to 25 K. This is to our knowledge the best reported noise temperature at these frequencies till now.