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IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters

Measurement of intermediate frequency bandwidth of hot electron bolometer mixers at terahertz frequency range

Denis Meledin, Edward Tong, R. Blundell, Gregory N Gol'tsman

Published Nov 1, 2003• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have developed a new experimental setup for measuring the IF bandwidth of superconducting hot electron bolometer mixers. In our measurement system we use a chopped hot filament as a broadband signal source, and can perform a high-speed IF scan with no loss of accuracy when compared to coherent methods. Using this technique we have measured the 3 dB IF bandwidth of hot electron bolometer mixers, designed for THz frequency operation, and made from 3-4 nm thick NbN film deposited on an MgO buffer layer over crystalline quartz.

DOI
10.1109/lmwc.2003.817133

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European Microwave Conference (EuMC)•Sep 1, 1997•25 citations
We have developed a new experimental setup for measuring the IF bandwidth of superconducting hot electron bolometer mixers. In our measurement system we use a chopped hot filament as a broadband signal source, and can perform a high-speed IF scan with no loss of accuracy when compared to coherent methods. Using this technique we have measured the 3 dB IF bandwidth of hot electron bolometer mixers, designed for THz frequency operation, and made from 3-4 nm thick NbN film deposited on an MgO buffer layer over crystalline quartz.
In this paper, we present the results of IF bandwidth measurements on 3-4 nm thick NbN hot electron bolometer waveguide mixers, which have been fabricated on a 200-nm thick MgO buffer layer deposited on a crystalline quartz substrate. The 3-dB IF bandwidth, measured at an LO frequency of 0.81 THz, is 3.7 GHz at the optimal bias point for low noise receiver operation. We have also made measurements of the IF dynamic impedance, which allow us to evaluate the intrinsic electron temperature relaxation time and self-heating parameters at different bias conditions.
Abstract As part of an effort to develop heterodyne rf receivers operating in the terahertz band, we have fabricated hot‐electron bolometers (HEB) using NbN thin films, and investigated their intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidths. The NbN thin films we studied were grown on single‐crystal MgO substrates by dc reactive sputtering. Our 2.8‐nm‐thick films exhibited superior superconducting properties, including transition temperatures TC of 9.7 K and 20 K resistivities ρ20 of 185 µΩ·cm. Using electron beam diffraction, high‐resolution TEM images, and other techniques to study the crystallinity of these films, we determined that the NbN grows epitaxially on the MgO substrate as single‐crystal material. The HEB elements we made consisted of a NbN microstrip, a Au electrode section, and an Al antenna section. In the course of studying the IF bandwidths of these devices in the millimeter‐wave range, we found one device with an IF bandwidth of 2.5 GHz, the highest of any device we made. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 85(7): 77–83, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.1111
We present recent measurements of receiver noise temperature and intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth in the frequency range 0.8-1.3 THz for waveguide NbTiN HEB mixers of various dimensions. These devices are fabricated from an NbTiN film deposited on crystalline quartz substrates with AlN buffer layer. The lengths of the mixer elements vary from 0.3 to 0.5 /spl mu/m and their widths vary from 3 to 10 /spl mu/m. Critical temperatures are typically at 8.5 K, and the measured normal state resistance of the devices is about 1000 ohms per square. All the device DC parameters demonstrate a high degree of uniformity. A double side band noise temperature at 0.8 THz as low as 550 K has been measured at an IF frequency of 1.8 GHz, with a conversion loss of around 14 dB. At an IF of 3 GHz, the noise temperature increases to 750 K. We have also made extensive measurements of the IF bandwidth as a function of bias voltages and currents. At the optimal low-noise operation point, a 3-dB IF bandwidth of 1.2 GHz is obtained for a wide variety of device dimensions and bath temperature.
We have developed and characterized waveguide phonon-cooled NbN Hot Electron Bolometer (FMB) mixers fabricated from a 3-4 nrn thick NbN film deposited on a 200nm thick MgO buffer layer over crystalline quartz. Double side band receiver noise temperatures of 900-1050 K at 1.035 THz, and 1300-1400 K at 1.26 THz have been measured at an intermediate frequency of 1.5 GHz. The intermediate frequency bandwidth, measured at 0.8 THz LO frequency, is 3.2 GHz at the optimal bias point for low noise receiver operation.
The bandwidth of NbN phonon-cooled hot electron bolometer mixers has been systematically investigated with respect to the film thickness and film quality variation. The films, 2.5 to 10 nm thick, were fabricated on sapphire substrates using DC reactive magnetron sputtering. All devices consisted of several parallel strips, each 1 μ wide and 2 μ long, placed between Ti-Au contact pads. To measure the gain bandwidth we used two identical BWOs operating in the 120-140 GHz frequency range, one functioning as a local oscillator and the other as a signal source. The majority of the measurements were made at an ambient temperature of 4.2 K with optimal LO and DC bias. The maximum 3 dB bandwidth (about 4 GHz) was achieved for the devices made of films which were 2.5-3.5 nm thick, had a high critical temperature, and high critical current density. A theoretical analysis of bandwidth for these mixers based on the two-temperature model gives a good description of the experimental results if one assumes that the electron temperature is equal to the critical temperature.