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Superconductor Science and Technology

Development and characterization of the superconducting integrated receiver channel of the TELIS atmospheric sounder

Gert J. de Lange, Manfred Birk, D. Boersma, Johannes Dercksen, Pavel Dmitriev, Andrey B. Ermakov, Lyudmila V. Filippenko, Hans Golstein, Ruud W. M. Hoogeveen, Leo de Jong, Andrey V. Khudchenko, Nickolay V. Kinev, Oleg S. Kiselev, Bart van Kuik, A. de Lange, Joris van Rantwijk, Avri M. Selig, Alexander S. Sobolev, Mikhail Yu. Torgashin, Ed de Vries, Georg Wagner, Pavel A. Yagoubov, V. P. Koshelets

Published Mar 10, 2010• 86 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The balloon-borne instrument TELIS (TErahertz and submillimetre LImb Sounder) is a three-channel superconducting heterodyne spectrometer for atmospheric research use. It detects spectral emission lines of stratospheric trace gases that have their rotational transitions at THz frequencies. One of the channels is based on the superconducting integrated receiver (SIR) technology. We demonstrate for the first time the capabilities of the SIR technology for heterodyne spectroscopy in general, and atmospheric limb sounding in particular. We also show that the application of SIR technology is not limited to laboratory environments, but that it is well suited for remote operation under harsh environmental conditions. Within a SIR the main components needed for a superconducting heterodyne receiver such as a superconductor–insulator–superconductor (SIS) mixer with a quasi-optical antenna, a flux-flow oscillator (FFO) as the local oscillator, and a harmonic mixer to phase lock the FFO are integrated on a single chip. Light weight and low power consumption combined with broadband operation and nearly quantum limited sensitivity make the SIR a perfect candidate for use in future airborne and space-borne missions. The noise temperature of the SIR was measured to be as low as 120 K, with an intermediate frequency band of 4–8 GHz in double-sideband operation. The spectral resolution is well below 1 MHz, confirmed by our measurements. Remote control of the SIR under flight conditions has been demonstrated in a successful balloon flight in Kiruna, Sweden. The sensor and instrument design are presented, as well as the preliminary science results from the first flight.

DOI
10.1088/0953-2048/23/4/045016

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The balloon-borne instrument TELIS (TErahertz and submillimetre LImb Sounder) is a three-channel superconducting heterodyne spectrometer for atmospheric research use. It detects spectral emission lines of stratospheric trace gases that have their rotational transitions at THz frequencies. One of the channels is based on the superconducting integrated receiver (SIR) technology. We demonstrate for the first time the capabilities of the SIR technology for heterodyne spectroscopy in general, and atmospheric limb sounding in particular. We also show that the application of SIR technology is not limited to laboratory environments, but that it is well suited for remote operation under harsh environmental conditions. Within a SIR the main components needed for a superconducting heterodyne receiver such as a superconductor–insulator–superconductor (SIS) mixer with a quasi-optical antenna, a flux-flow oscillator (FFO) as the local oscillator, and a harmonic mixer to phase lock the FFO are integrated on a single chip. Light weight and low power consumption combined with broadband operation and nearly quantum limited sensitivity make the SIR a perfect candidate for use in future airborne and space-borne missions. The noise temperature of the SIR was measured to be as low as 120 K, with an intermediate frequency band of 4–8 GHz in double-sideband operation. The spectral resolution is well below 1 MHz, confirmed by our measurements. Remote control of the SIR under flight conditions has been demonstrated in a successful balloon flight in Kiruna, Sweden. The sensor and instrument design are presented, as well as the preliminary science results from the first flight.
A Superconducting Integrated Receiver (SIR) was proposed more than 10 years ago and has since then been developed up to the point of practical applications. We have demonstrated for the first time the capabilities of the SIR technology for heterodyne spectroscopy both in the laboratory and at remote operation under harsh environmental conditions for atmospheric research. Within a SIR the main components needed for a superconducting heterodyne receiver such as an SIS-mixer with quasi-optical antenna, a Flux-Flow oscillator (FFO) as the local oscillator, and a harmonic mixer to phase-lock the FFO are integrated on a single chip. Light weight and low power consumption combined with broadband operation and nearly quantum limited sensitivity make the SIR a perfect candidate for future airborne and space-borne missions. The noise temperature of the SIR was measured to be as low as 85 K, with an intermediate frequency band of 4-8 GHz in double sideband operation; the spectral resolution is well below 1 MHz. The SIR was implemented in the three-channel balloon-borne instrument TELIS (TErahertz and submillimeter LImb Sounder) that detects spectral emission lines of stratospheric trace gases (like ClO and BrO). These gases even in small quantities can have a significant impact on the atmosphere because they speed up certain chemical processes, such as ozone depletion.
We report on the results of developing a single-chip superconducting integrated receiver which is the key element of the 500 -650 GHz spectrometer for the Terahertz Limb Sounder (TELIS) balloon project. TELIS is a collaborative European project to develop a three-channel heterodyne balloon-based spectrometer for measuring a variety of atmospheric constituents of the stratosphere. The Superconducting Integrated Receiver (SIR) comprises in one chip a planar antenna integrated with an SIS mixer, a superconducting Flux Flow Oscillator (FFO) acting as Local Oscillator (LO) and a second SIS harmonic mixer (HM) for the FFO phase locking. As a result of the FFO design optimization a free-running linewidth between 9 and 1.5 MHz has been measured in the frequency range 500 – 710 GHz resulting in phase-locking of 35 to 95 % of the FFO power correspondingly. A new generation of the SIR devices with improved FFO performance and optimized interface between FFO and SIS/HM has been developed and comprehensively tested; all required TELIS parameters were demonstrated. Phase–locked FFO operation over entire SIR channel frequency range has been realized, spectral resolution below 1 MHz has been confirmed by gas cell and CW signal measurements. An uncorrected double side band (DSB) noise temperature about 200 K has been measured with the phase-locked FFO. The intermediate frequency bandwidth 4-8 GHz has been realized. To ensure remote operation of the phase-locked SIR several procedures for its automatic computer control have been developed and tested. To overcome temperature constraints and extend operation frequency of the all-Nb SIR we have developed and studied Nb-AlN-NbN-Nb circuits with a gap voltage Vg up to 3.7 mV and extremely low leakage currents (Rj/Rn > 30). Based on these junctions integrated microcircuits comprising FFO and harmonic mixer have been designed, fabricated and tested; the radiation from such circuits has been measured at frequencies up to 700 GHz. Employment of NbN electrode does not result in the appearance of additional noise. For example, FFO linewidth as low as 1 MHz was measured at 600 GHz, that allows us to phase lock up to 92 % of the emitted by FFO power and realize very low phase noise about –90 dBc. Preliminary results demonstrated uncorrected DSB noise temperature of the Nb-AlN-NbN SIR below 250 K at frequencies of primary TELIS interest around 500 and 600 GHz. We expect that Nb-AlN-NbN-Nb device will be used for the first qualification TELIS flight that is scheduled on April 2007.
In this report we present design and first experimental results for development of the submm superconducting integrated receiver spectrometer for Terahertz Limb Sounder (TELIS). TELIS is a collaborative European project to build up a three-channel heterodyne balloon-based spectrometer for measuring a variety of atmospheric constituents of the stratosphere. The 550 - 650 GHz channel of TELIS is based on a phase-locked Superconducting Integrated Receiver (SIR). SIR is an on-chip combination of a low-noise Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) mixer with quasioptical antenna, a superconducting Flux Flow Oscillator (FFO) acting as Local Oscillator (LO), and SIS harmonic mixer (HM) for FFO phase locking. A number of new solutions were implemented in the new generation of SIR chips. To achieve the wide-band performance of the spectrometer, a side-feed twin-SIS mixer and balanced SIS mixer with 0.8 µm 2 junctions integrated with a double-dipole (or double-slot) antenna is used. An improved design of the FFO for TELIS has been developed and optimized providing a free-running linewidth between 10 and 2 MHz in the frequency range 500 - 700 GHz. It is important to ensure that tuning of a phase-locked (PL) SIR can be performed remotely by telecommand. For this purpose a number of approaches for the PL SIR automatic computer control have been developed. All receiver components (including input optical elements and Martin-Puplett polarization rotating interferometer for single side band operation) will be mounted on a single 4.2 K plate inside a 40 × 180 × 80 mm 3 box. First measurements give an uncorrected double side band (DSB) noise temperature below 250 K measured with the phase-locked FFO; more detailed results are presented at the conference.
Abstract — In this paper we present configuration and performance of the 480- 650 GHz channel for the Terahertz Limb Sounder (TELIS), a three-channel balloon-borne heterodyne spectrometer for atmospheric research. This frequency channel is based on a phase-locked Superconducting Integrated Receiver (SIR). SIR is an on-chip combination of a low-noise SIS mixer with quasioptical antenna, a superconducting Flux Flow Oscillator (FFO) acting as Local Oscillator (LO) and SIS harmonic mixer (HM) for FFO phase locking. The microcircuit is designed as a quasioptical mixer. The SIR channel has been integrated into the TELIS system in the end 2006 and fully characterized during 2007/2008 in preparation for the flight campaign. In May 2008 TELIS was shipped to Brazil where it was integrated into the MIPAS-B gondola. The TELIS-MIPAS test flight took place in June 2008 in Teresina, Brazil. I.
A Superconducting Integrated Receiver (SIR) comprises on one chip all elements needed for heterodyne detection: a low-noise SIS mixer with quasioptical antenna, a Flux-Flow Oscillator (FFO) acting as a Local Oscillator (LO) and a second SIS harmonic mixer (HM) for the FFO phase locking. Light weight and low power consumption combined with nearly quantum limited sensitivity and a wide tuning range of the FFO make SIR a perfect candidate for many practical applications. In particular, the SIR developed for novel balloon borne instrument TELIS (TErahertz and submillimeter LImb Sounder) covers frequency range 480 - 650 GHz. As a result of recent receiver's optimization the DSB noise temperature was measured as low as 120 K for the SIR with intermediate frequency (IF) band 4 - 8 GHz. The capability of the SIR for high resolution atmospheric spectroscopy has been successfully proven with scientific balloon flights from Kiruna, North Sweden. Diurnal cycles of ClO and BrO has been observed with BrO line level of only about 0.5 K. Possibility to use the SIRs for analysis of the breathed out air at medical survey has been demonstrated.
We present results of a single-chip superconducting integrated receiver development for the Terahertz Limb Sounder (TELIS) balloon project. TELIS is a collaborative European project to build a three-channel heterodyne balloon-based spectrometer for measuring a variety of the stratosphere constituents. The Superconducting Integrated Receiver (SIR) comprises in one chip a planar antenna integrated with a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer, a superconducting Flux Flow Oscillator (FFO) acting as Local Oscillator (LO) and a second SIS harmonic mixer (HM) for FFO phase locking. An improved design of the FFO for TELIS has been developed and optimized. A free-running linewidth between 9 and 2 MHz has been measured in the frequency range 500 - 710 GHz. As a result the spectral ratio of the phased-locked FFO varies from 35 to 90 % correspondingly, ensuring that at least half of the phase-locked FFO power in the primary frequency range for TELIS (550-650 GHz). The FFO performance required for successful TELIS operation is discussed. New generation of the SIR for TELIS with improved FFO performance has been developed and preliminary tested. It is important to ensure that tuning of a phase-locked (PL) SIR can be performed remotely by telecommand. For this purpose a number of approaches for the PL SIR automatic computer control have been developed. Preliminary measurements give an uncorrected double side band (DSB) noise temperature of about 200 K measured at 2.1 K with the FFO phase-locked at 660 GHz. The effect of FFO linewidth imperfections on retrieval procedure is discussed.