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Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics

Analysis of spectral characteristics of a superconducting integrated receiver

V. P. Koshelets, Andrey V. Khudchenko

Published May 1, 2006• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Frequency down-conversion of a received signal in an integrated receiver with a superconducting heterodyne oscillator is simulated. The effect of the nonideal heterodyne spectrum on the transformation is assessed. The possibility of elimination of distortions introduced by the heterodyne in the course of the input spectrum reconstruction is investigated. A new method for signal spectrum reconstruction is proposed and studied. The effect of noise at the receiver output on the reconstructed spectrum of the original signal is studied. The requirements for the heterodyne spectral parameters providing for the necessary accuracy of reconstruction are determined.

DOI
10.1134/s1064226906050135

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IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques•Jan 1, 1998•21 citations
Frequency down-conversion of a received signal in an integrated receiver with a superconducting heterodyne oscillator is simulated. The effect of the nonideal heterodyne spectrum on the transformation is assessed. The possibility of elimination of distortions introduced by the heterodyne in the course of the input spectrum reconstruction is investigated. A new method for signal spectrum reconstruction is proposed and studied. The effect of noise at the receiver output on the reconstructed spectrum of the original signal is studied. The requirements for the heterodyne spectral parameters providing for the necessary accuracy of reconstruction are determined.
This chapter discusses the high sensitivity superconducting mixers, i.e. detectors used in heterodyne receivers. Today, there are essentially two very successful concepts of superconducting mixers, or frequency down-converters, the superconductor-insulator-superconductor tunnel junction SIS mixer and the superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixer. Moving up to higher frequencies in the microwave and millimeter wave electromagnetic spectra makes it more and more difficult to retrieve a good signal-to-noise ratio with ordinary solid-state amplifiers. The driving force for using superconducting mixers is their excellent down-conversion efficiency and capability to down-convert RF signals from microwave frequencies up to the terahertz region. The main purpose of a receiver is to pick up and amplify a weak signal, which can then be accurately determined in amplitude and phase. The mixer noise temperature and conversion gain are the most important parameters for the mixing device. The Josephson junction mixer was one of the first suggested devices based on superconducting point contacts and later tunnel junctions.
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.
A monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) frequency down-converter based on a compact high-Tc superconducting (HTS) device is demonstrated. The on-chip integrated HTS down-converter consists of a 7–9 GHz bandpass filter for RF input, a lowpass filter for intermediate frequency output, and a self-pumped Josephson heterodyne mixer. All the above passive and active components are fabricated on a single 10 mm × 20 mm chip of YBa2Cu3O7−x film on MgO substrate. Characterization of this MMIC HTS down-converter in terms of frequency response, conversion gain, frequency-tuneability, bias dependence, dynamic range, linearity, and intrinsic noise are presented in this paper.
The dependence of the noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of a superconducting integrated receiver (SIR) on the receiver noise temperature and the inputsignal level has been investigated. An unprecedented NETD of 13±2 mK has been measured at a SIR noise temperature of 200 K, intermediate-frequency bandwidth of 4 GHz, and time constant of 1 s. With a decrease in the input signal, an improvement in the NETD is observed. This effect is explained by a reduction in the influence of the instabilities of the receiver power supply and the amplification circuit that occur when the input signal is decreased.
We report on a 850-GHz superconducting-insulator-superconducting (SIS) heterodyne receiver employing an RF-tuned niobium tunnel junction with a current density of 14 kA/cm^2, fabricated on a 1-µm Si_3N_4 supporting membrane. Since the mixer is designed to be operated well above the superconducting gap frequency of niobium (2Δ/h ≈ 690 GHz), special care has been taken to minimize niobium transmission-line losses. Both Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) measurements of the direct detection performance and calculations of the IF output noise with the mixer operating in heterodyne mode, indicate an absorption loss in the niobium film of about 6.8 dB at 822 GHz. These results are in reasonably good agreement with the loss predicted by the Mattis-Bardeen theory in the extreme anomalous limit. From 800 to 830 GHz, we report uncorrected receiver noise temperatures of 518 or 514 K when we use Callen and Welton's law to calculate the input load temperatures. Over the same frequency range, the mixer has a 4-dB conversion loss and 265 K ± 10 K noise temperature. At 890 GHz, the sensitivity of the receiver has degraded to 900 K, which is primarily the result of increased niobium film loss in the RF matching network. When the mixer was cooled from 4.2 to 1.9 K, the receiver noise temperature improved about 20% 409-K double sideband (DSB). Approximately half of the receiver noise temperature improvement can be attributed to a lower mixer conversion loss, while the remainder is due to a reduction in the niobium film absorption loss. At 982 GHz, we measured a receiver noise temperature of 1916 K.