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AIP conference proceedings

Millimeter wave superconducting devices

P. L. Richards

Published Jan 1, 1978• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Significant progress has been made during the past two years in the development of millimeter wave superconducting devices. The present status of bolometric detectors and mixers, Josephson‐effect mixers, quasiparticle mixers, and Josephson‐effect parametric amplifiers will be reviewed.
DOI
10.1063/1.31343

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A description is given of recent work at Berkeley on superconducting mixers and detectors for infrared and millimeter wavelengths. The first report is a review article which summarizes the status of development of superconducting components for infrared and millimeter wave receivers. The next report describes accurate measurements and also theoretical modeling of an SIS quasiparticle waveguide mixer for W-band which uses very high quality Ta junctions. The best mixer noise is only 1.3 times the quantum limit. Both the mixer gain and the noise are in quantitative agreement with the quantum theory. Next, a report is given on measurements and theoretical modeling of the absorptivity (surface resistance) of high quality epitaxial films of the high {Tc} superconductor YBCO from 750 GHz to 21 THz. Finally, there are reports on the design and experimental performance of two different types of high {Tc} bolometric detectors. One is a conventional bolometer with a gold-black absorber. The other is an antenna coupled microbolometer.
Quasiparticle and Josephson tunneling currents in superconducting tunnel junctions provide nonlinear low-noise response up to terahertz frequencies. Many types of direct detector heterodyne mixer and parametric amplifier based on these effects have been explored. Only the SIS quasiparticle mixer has been sufficiently competitive to find significant applications. These mixers can have noise approaching the quantum limit TN = ℏω/k and gain larger than 10 dB. They are used at a number of observatories for molecular line radio astronomy at millimeter wavelengths. Similar applications at submillimeter wavelengths are beginning.
A weak link between two bulk superconductors can exhibit Josephson effects and can be used as a fast sensitive detector or mixer for electromagnetic radiation. Emphasis is placed on the millimeter and submillimeter range where such applications are potentially most important, though such devices should also work well at lower frequencies. The peculiar properties of the weak link make possible a variety of modes of operation including one in which it is both local oscillator and mixer. These modes of operation are analyzed and the pivotal experiments are reviewed. Noise and impedance matching are considered and comparison is made with other types of detectors of millimeter and submillimeter waves.
Superconducting detectors will play an increasingly significant role in astrophysics, especially at millimeter through far-IR wavelengths, where the scientific opportunities include key problems in astronomy and cosmology. Superconducting detectors offer many benefits: outstanding sensitivity, lithographic fabrication, and large array sizes, especially through the recent development of multiplexing techniques. This paper describes the scientific opportunities, the basic physics of these devices, the techniques for radiation coupling, and reviews the recent progress in direct detectors, such as transition-edge bolometers, and the work on tunnel junction (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) and hot-electron mixers.