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IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

Perfectly matched SIS arrays for mm wave receivers

S. V. Shitov, V. P. Koshelets, Sergey Kovtonyuk, Andrey M. Baryshev

Published Mar 1, 1993• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A novel conception of improved matching for both input and output mixer ports has been developed and confirmed successfully with experimental receivers in the 40-180-GHz frequency range. Parallel and parallel-series combinations integrated up to 11 Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb type superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions have been tested in full-height waveguide mixers. Receivers' noise temperatures T/sub r/(DSB)>

DOI
10.1109/77.233553

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URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium•Aug 1, 2017•0 citations
A novel conception of improved matching for both input and output mixer ports has been developed and confirmed successfully with experimental receivers in the 40-180-GHz frequency range. Parallel and parallel-series combinations integrated up to 11 Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb type superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions have been tested in full-height waveguide mixers. Receivers' noise temperatures T/sub r/(DSB)>
Parallel connected for dc and IF, but in series for rf current SIS junction arrays are under investigation since 1982. Novel conception of the improved matching for both input and output mixer ports have been developed and confirmed successfully with experimental receivers in 40-180 GHz frequency range. Parallel and parallel-series combinations integrated up to 11 Nb-AlOx-Nb type SIS junctions have been tested in full height waveguide mixers. The receivers' noise temperatures Tr(DSB) I50K have been achieved in the laboratory tests across frequency range 40-150GHz. The Tr as low as 35K have been carefully measured at 145GHz. The parallel biased SIS arrays for integrated on a chip SIS receiver have been designed and tested successfully. The integrated receiver noise temperature as low as 85K was achieved at 140GHz. New SIS array design for mixer in frequency range 500-1000 GHz is presented.
The possibility of overcoming the main drawbacks of the traditional series arrays by using a parallel connection of SIS junctions for DC and IF current has been experimentally demonstrated in full height 70-116 GHz waveguide mixers. This new array concept has been successfully developed to: (i) avoid the influence of junction non-uniformity in the array; (ii) provide optimal matching at both RF input and IF output even in the case of high gain, and (iii) tune out junction capacitance without any DC blocks. The experimentally tested arrays contain 10 or 11 trilayer 2.5 mu m 2 Nb-AlO x -Nb junctions. Best values of T r (DSB) as low as 20+or-2 K have been measured at the receiver room temperature horn in the 104-108 GHz LO range with a 4 GHz IF and at a mixer ambient temperature of 4.5-5.5 K. An SSB mixer noise temperature as low as 6+or-3 K was estimated. This value is very close to the quantum noise limit hf/k approximately=5 K.
The possibility of overcoming the main drawbacks of the traditional series arrays by parallel connection of the SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) junctions for DC and IF are demonstrated experimentally. The proposed mixing elements avoid the influence of the junction nonuniformity in the array, provide the optimal matching on both RF input and IF output, and tune out junction capacitance. Experimentally tested arrays contained up to eight high-quality Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb junctions with R/sub n/=20-70 Omega at junction area 8/14 mu m/sup 2/. The best values of T/sub r/ (SSB) were measured to as low as 5 K on the mixer cold input flange in the 45-55-GHz bandwidth at an ambient temperature of 4.2 K. A mixer gain of up to 10 dB was obtained. The gain values were limited by bias stability at very high or even negative array output impedance. An experimental receiver noise temperature (SSB) of less than 20 K has been achieved.
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.>
In this paper, we present the experimental results of a waveguide superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer with an inhomogeneous distributed junction array. The mixer consists of five Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb SIS junctions with different dimensions distributed on a superconducting microstrip. The critical current density of the fabricated junctions was 3100 A/cm/sup 2/. Detailed measurements of the receiver noise temperature have been made in the frequency range from 190 to 284 GHz at 4.2 K. A double-sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature of 5 hw/k was obtained in the frequency range from 202 to 284 GHz and the lowest DSB receiver noise temperature of 46 K was obtained at 210 GHz.
Superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers are the most sensitive heterodyne receivers for mm and submm wavelengths. SIS mixers are installed on all state of the art submm observatories such as the Atacama Large Millimeter array (ALMA) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX). Recently, an improved type of Nb/AlN/NbN SIS junction has become available that combines higher gap voltage with high current density. This opens new parametric space for further improvement of the SIS mixer's performance and bandwidth both for frequencies higher and lower than the gap frequency of Nb (700 GHz). In this contribution we will describe designs of SIS mixers based on a new type of SIS junction, both for high (~900 GHz) and low (~200 GHz) frequencies.