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Journal of Applied Physics

Saturation of the superconductor quasiparticle direct radiation detector

M. J. Feldman

Published Oct 1, 1986• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The saturation properties of the superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) direct detector are calculated. It is shown that this device begins to saturate only at powers far larger than one would expect from a simple analogy with the SIS mixer. Since the SIS direct detector is known to have very low noise, this result should lead to its immediate practical exploitation for direct detection of millimeter wavelength radiation.

DOI
10.1063/1.337124

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•Jan 1, 1988•2 citations
The saturation properties of the superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) direct detector are calculated. It is shown that this device begins to saturate only at powers far larger than one would expect from a simple analogy with the SIS mixer. Since the SIS direct detector is known to have very low noise, this result should lead to its immediate practical exploitation for direct detection of millimeter wavelength radiation.
Theoretical and experimental research has been conducted to elucidate the basic physics behind the properties of superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction receiving devices. The quantum theory of mixing was employedto calculate the saturation behavior of the SIS mixer and the SIS direct detector. The direct detector was found to saturate at far higher powers than previously believed, allowing the possibility of practical application of this device. Experiments verified the saturation theory. The mixer saturation expression led to the formulation of frequency scaling regions. The origin of quantum noise sources are completely minimized. The mixer quantum noise limit was shown to be reached in only two special cases. Computer calculations determined that the behavior of SIS receivers divides into two regimes, low and high frequencies, the cross-over frequency depending upon junction quality. The properties of these two regimes were delineated. All previous SIS receivers have operated in the low frequency regime. Plasma-etched niobium nitride edge junctions have been fabricated using a novel barrier formation process. These junctions have excellent current-voltage characteristics, but their precise physical nature has not yet been determined. (Author)
Single-particle (quasi-particle) tunneling through an insulating barrier between two superconductors or between a superconductor and a normal conductor is being used to make very-low-noise detectors and mixers for millimeter wavelengths. The nonlinearity of theI-Vcurve obtained from tunneling between two superconductors can be so strong that classical theory breaks down and photon-assisted tunneling theory must be used to understand device performance. Quantum theory predicts that a quasi-particle tunnel junction can be operated as a microwave photon detector with quantum efficiency close to unity or as a heterodyne mixer with conversion gain and with mixer noise temperature comparable with the quantum noise limitT_{M} =\bar{h}\omega/k. Both of these predictions have been experimentally realized at 36 GHz using superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions. It appears probable that these quasi-particle detectors and mixers will supercede the corresponding Josephson-effect devices at millimeter wavelengths.
Single particle (quasiparticle) tunneling through an insulating barrier between two superconductors or between a superconductor and a normal conductor is being used to make very low noise detectors and mixers for millimeter wavelengths. The nonlinearity of the I-V curve obtained from tunneling between two superconductors can be so strong that classical theory breaks down and photon assisted tunneling theory must be used to understand device performance. Quantum theory predicts that a quasiparticle tunnel junction can be operated as a microwave photon detector with quantum efficiency close to unity or as a heterodyne mixer with conversion gain and with mixer noise temperature comparable with the quantum noise limit T sub M = h omega/k. Both of these predictions have been experimentally realized at 36GHz using superconductor-insulator-superconductor junctions. It appears probable that these quasiparticle detectors and mixers will supercede the corresponding Josephson effect devices at millimeter wavelengths. (Author)
Photon-assisted tunneling of electrons through an insulating barrier may be used to detect long-wavelength radiation with a sensitivity approaching the limit imposed by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. A new generation of ultra-low-noise millimeter-wave receivers, currently being developed for astronomical observation, utilizes the extremely sharp nonlinearity produced by single-electron quasiparticle tunneling between two superconductors in a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction. At millimeter wavelengths, the quantum energy $\frac{\ensuremath{\hbar}\ensuremath{\omega}}{e}$ may be larger than the voltage width for onset of quasiparticle tunneling in a SIS junction; and under these conditions the absorption of a single photon can cause one additional electron to tunnel through the barrier. Several newly discovered quantum effects become possible in this regime, including power amplification of an incoming signal during the process of frequency down-conversion in a heterodyne receiver. The experimental development of SIS millimeter-wave receivers is reviewed, along with the quantum theory of mixing which predicts their performance.
We report operation of superconductor-insulator-superconductor quasiparticle tunnel junctions as mixers and detectors at millimeter wavelengths. The voltage scale of the nonlinearity in the I-V curve of such junctions can be small enough that classical device theory breaks down. Calculations based on photon assisted tunneling theory are then necessary to understand the observed performance. The performance predicted in this novel regime is sufficiently good that practical applications appear very promising. The best mixer result observed at 36 GHz is a double side-band mixer noise temperature Tm≤ 7 K which is about 4 times the photon noise limited value of hv/k. When operated as a direct detector, a current responsivity of 3,500 A/W was observed. This is half the quantum limited value e/hv, which corresponds to one tunneling electron for each incident microwave photon. The best observed NEP was 3 × 10-16W√Hz.
Heterodyne receivers based on superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel diodes are the most sensitive available for near-millimeter wavelengths. Since the late seventies, receivers based on SISs have been used for millimeter band observations at radio observatories around the world. The work described here was carried out with the elusive goal in mind of developing ideal SIS receivers for radioastronomy. This thesis describes one researcher's path towards this goal. In the first chapter, a basic description of SIS diodes, their interaction with radiation, and heterodyne detection are given. The important detailed results of J. R. Tucker's tunnel diode heterodyne theory are described, since subsequent chapters rely on Tucker's work quite heavily. Throughout this introductory chapter, extremely simple (by comparison with the algebraic theoretical results) physical models are used to describe superconductivity, SISs, photon-assisted tunneling, and heterodyne detection. It is the author's experience that these physical models can be used to derive correct theoretical results, long before these results are proved rigorously. The second chapter presents a fully quantum mechanical theory of heterodyne detection with diodes. This theory was developed because Tucker's theory for tunnel diodes predicts a greater mixer sensitivity than is possible considering Heisenberg's uncertainty principle for radiation. Tucker does not quantize the radiation incident on the SIS, although his treatment of the isolated tunnel diode is completely quantum mechanical. In chapter 2, the quantization of radiation is carried out for heterodyne diode detectors. The formalism is shown to obey quantum limits on sensitivity. Finally, an ideal SIS mixer is shown to have noise properties identical to those of optical mixers based on ideal photodiodes. In possession of an apparently complete theory for SIS mixers, the third chapter presents a sampling of numerical results from that theory. Four different non-ideal tunnel diodes are used for these calculations so that a quantitative feel for the importance of diode quality can be achieved. The effects of dc and LO bias, signal and image source admittance, frequency of operation, and junction quality are all explored. This information will be useful for the proper engineering of SIS mixers. Finally, the fully optimized performance of the four tunnel diodes is presented as frequency is varied. It is shown that reasonably good quality lead-alloy SISs should behave like photodiodes up to frequencies as high as 1500 GHz. Finally, chapter 4 presents a prototype open-structure SIS mixer. Measurements in the laboratory show this mixer to be quite sensitive for signal frequencies from 115 to 761 GHz. Unlike all other SIS receivers, in which the diode is mounted across a waveguide, this mixer relies on the bowtie-on-quartz antenna structure, which has been investigated by D. B. Rutledge and his students. This difference is essential to the multi-octave spectral coverage of this mixer. It is probable that waveguide designs will never achieve good results above 500 GHz, and as of now, there are no SIS-waveguide mixers which operate well above 300 GHz. Tests at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory verify the suitablility of this mixer for radioastronomy, but these tests have been limited to frequencies of 260 GHz and lower.