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IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

Quasioptical SIS mixer with broadband integrated tuning elements

G. Pance, Noshir Dubash, Michael J. Wengler

Published Mar 1, 1993• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The authors have designed and tested a quasioptical superconducting tunnel junction (superconductor-insulator-superconductor, or SIS) mixer with integrated tuning elements. The designs consists of a self-complementary log-periodic antenna, the SIS tunnel junction, and the broadband superconducting tuning circuit. The tuning circuit is placed between the SIS junction and the center of the antenna. Tuning circuits are designed for 98 GHz and 492 GHz. Self-induced resonant steps are observed in I-V curves. Results of noise temperature measurements performed between 89 GHz and 104.4 GHz are reported. Results from the Touchstone simulation program, when run with the actual fabrication process parameters, show agreement with the experiment. Three types of measurements are presented: DC I-V curve measurement, heterodyne detection measurement, and direct detection measurement. All measurements show consistent results and they all agree with the theoretical predictions.>

DOI
10.1109/77.233552

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Applied Physics Letters•Dec 20, 1999•81 citations
The authors have designed and tested a quasioptical superconducting tunnel junction (superconductor-insulator-superconductor, or SIS) mixer with integrated tuning elements. The designs consists of a self-complementary log-periodic antenna, the SIS tunnel junction, and the broadband superconducting tuning circuit. The tuning circuit is placed between the SIS junction and the center of the antenna. Tuning circuits are designed for 98 GHz and 492 GHz. Self-induced resonant steps are observed in I-V curves. Results of noise temperature measurements performed between 89 GHz and 104.4 GHz are reported. Results from the Touchstone simulation program, when run with the actual fabrication process parameters, show agreement with the experiment. Three types of measurements are presented: DC I-V curve measurement, heterodyne detection measurement, and direct detection measurement. All measurements show consistent results and they all agree with the theoretical predictions.>
We have designed and tested a quasioptical superconducting tunnel junction (SIS) mixer with integrated tuning elements. Devices were fabricated by the Consortium for Superconducting Electronics. The designs consist of a self- complementary log-periodic antenna, superconductor-insulator- superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction, and the broadband superconducting tuning circuit. The tuning circuit is placed between the SIS junction and the center of the antenna. Tuning circuits are designed for 98 GHz and 492 GHz. Self induced resonant steps are observed in I-V curves. We performed noise temperature measurements between 89 GHz and 104.4 GHz and report the results.
The authors present two different designs of integrated tuning elements for superconducting tunnel junction mixers. The structures consist of a self-complementary log-periodic antenna, superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction, and a broadband superconducting tuning circuit placed between the center of the antenna and the SIS junction. The designs allow good coupling to relatively large-area (7 mu m/sup 2/) junctions. The best design has a 3-dB bandwidth of 102 GHz at the central frequency of 98 GHz, and 75 GHz at the central frequency of 492 GHz. Microwave scale-model measurements show excellent agreement with simulation results. Devices are being fabricated in niobium technology.>
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.>
A quasioptical Josephson detector with resistively shunted superconducting tunnel junctions of superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) type and different integrated matching circuits for mm waveband region has been designed, fabricated and experimentally studied. A special quasioptical cryogenic probe has been designed and fabricated for measurements of microwave response of such integrated receiving structures. For low-frequency matching a cold transformer has been used at the output port. Many efforts have been made for reducing the external noise influence on Josephson junction IV curve. Quasioptical beamguide has been optimized and adjusted using Bi bolometers evaporated instead of Josephson junctions in the center of planar antenna. Beampatterns of several types of planar antennas, including self-complementary and non-complementary logarithmic spiral and log-periodic antennas, have been measured using the same technique.
We designed and tested a quasi-optical SIS mixer that incorporates a substrate lens for the 100 GHz band. The mixer uses a planar self-complementary log-periodic antenna with an integrated tuning circuit. The antenna has a frequency independent impedance of around over several octaves. The tuning circuit consists of two SIS junctions connected in parallel through a superconducting stripline inductor for tuning out the junction capacitances and a impedance transformer for matching the junction resistance to the antenna impedance. The SIS junctions are and have an area of and a current density of . The IF output from the mixer is brought out in a balanced way at each edge of the antenna, and is coupled to a cooled low-noise amplifier through a balun transformer by using a hybrid coupler. A double-sideband receiver noise temperature less than 130 K was measured from 85 to 110 GHz. The best noise temperature was 90 K at 101 GHz, which is the same as for waveguide receivers.
We have developed a low-noise 850 GHz superconductor–insulator–superconductor quasiparticle mixer with NbTiN thin-film microstrip tuning circuits and hybrid Nb/AlN/NbTiN tunnel junctions. The mixer uses a quasioptical configuration with a planar twin-slot antenna feeding a two-junction tuning circuit. At 798 GHz, we measured an uncorrected double-sideband receiver noise temperature of TRX=260 K at 4.2 K bath temperature. This mixer outperforms current Nb SIS mixers by a factor of nearly 2 near 800 GHz. The high-gap frequency and low loss at 800 GHz make NbTiN an attractive material with which to fabricate tuning circuits for SIS mixers. NbTiN mixers can potentially operate up to the gap frequency, 2Δ/h∼1.2 THz.