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IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques

Design and Performance of a 600–720-GHz Sideband-Separating Receiver Using ${\hbox{AlO}}_{x}$ and AlN SIS Junctions

Fausto Patricio Mena, J. Kooi, Andrey M. Baryshev, C. F. J. Lodewijk, T. Zijlstra, Ronald Hesper, G. Gerlofsma, T. M. Klapwijk, W. Wild

Published Dec 9, 2010• 20 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present the design, modeling, construction, and characterization of a sideband separating heterodyne receiver that covers the frequency range from 600 to 720 GHz. The receiver has been constructed using waveguide technology in the split-block technique. The core of the mixer consists of a quadrature hybrid, two directional couplers to inject the local oscillator signal, two superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions, three signal-termination loads, and two planar IF/bandpass-filter/dc-bias circuits. The instrument that we have constructed presents excellent performance as demonstrated by two important figures of merit: receiver noise temperature and sideband ratio. Across the entire band, the uncorrected single-sideband noise temperature is below 500 K and reaches 190 K at the best operating point. The sideband ratio is greater than 10 dB over most of the frequency operating range. Superconducting junctions containing AlO∞- and AlN-tunnel barriers were tested.

DOI
10.1109/tmtt.2010.2090417

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Design and Performance of a 600–720-GHz Sideband-Separating Receiver Using AlOx{\hbox{AlO}}_{x}AlOx​ and AlN SIS Junctions
We present the design, modeling, construction, and characterization of a sideband separating heterodyne receiver that covers the frequency range from 600 to 720 GHz. The receiver has been constructed using waveguide technology in the split-block technique. The core of the mixer consists of a quadrature hybrid, two directional couplers to inject the local oscillator signal, two superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions, three signal-termination loads, and two planar IF/bandpass-filter/dc-bias circuits. The instrument that we have constructed presents excellent performance as demonstrated by two important figures of merit: receiver noise temperature and sideband ratio. Across the entire band, the uncorrected single-sideband noise temperature is below 500 K and reaches 190 K at the best operating point. The sideband ratio is greater than 10 dB over most of the frequency operating range. Superconducting junctions containing AlO∞- and AlN-tunnel barriers were tested.
In this article we present the design, modeling and construction of a side-band-separating (2SB) heterodyne receiver for the frequency range from 600 to 720 GHz that corresponds to band 9 band of ALMA. The characteristics of this receiver present a significant improvement over the current double-sideband (DSB) configuration currently under development. The core of the mixer consists of a quadrature hybrid, two LO injectors, two superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions, three signal-termination loads, and two IF filtering systems. All these parts were modeled and optimized prior construction. Our 2 mixer exploits waveguide technology and has been constructed in the split-block technique. We used state-of-the-art CNC micromachining which permitted us to obtain the small dimensions required for this frequency range. The constructed receiver presents a good performance but we suggest various ideas for further improvement.
We present results of the development and measurements of a heterodyne sideband separating SIS mixer for 85-115 GHz band. The sideband separation is achieved by using a quadrature scheme where a local oscillator (LO) pumps two identical mixer junctions with 90° phase difference. A key component in the mixer is a waveguide to microstrip double probe transition used as a power divider to split the input RF signal and to provide transition from waveguide to microstrip line. The double probe transition enables the integration of all mixer components on a single compact substrate. The design also involves coupled lines directional couplers to introduce the LO power to the mixer junctions. An additional pair of SIS junctions is used to provide termination loads for the idle ports of the couplers. Several mixer chips were tested and similar and consistent performance was obtained. The best single sideband noise temperature is below 40 K with IF bandwidth 3.4-4.6 GHz. The sideband suppression ratio is better than 12 dB for both sidebands across the entire RF band. The mixer was also successfully tested with 4-8 GHz IF band. In this paper we present complete mixer characterization data.
A modular sideband-separating (2SB) receiver for 600-720 GHz has been built and tested. The used modular design allows to characterize all the parts separately, including testing of the superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions individually in a double-sideband mode before building them in to the 2SB assembly. The developed 2SB mixer has a single sideband noise temperature below 380 K in the entire operating band and reaches a level of 200 K in the best point. At the same time, the image rejection ratio (IRR) was demonstrated to be better than 11.5 dB over the entire band. However, we have found a discrepancy between the observed and expected performance. To investigate this problem, we have developed and applied methods to characterize RF and intermediate frequency imbalances of a fully assembled 2SB mixer using the SIS junction properties. As result, the IRR of our mixer was found to be limited by the RF imbalance, which is caused by complex standing waves created by reflections from the SIS junctions, the RF hybrid and the RF absorption load.
This paper presents the results of development and tests of a sideband separating heterodyne receiver for the 85-115 GHz band with superconducting tunnel junctions (SIS) as frequency down converters. Sideband separation is achieved by using a quadrature scheme where two identical mixer junctions are pumped by a local oscillator (LO) with 90/spl deg/ phase difference. We used an innovative mixer layout where the quadrature scheme is implemented using waveguide-based and integrated on-chip components. We employed an additional pair of SIS junctions as terminations for LO-injection directional couplers.
We present the design and results of characterization of a new sideband separating (2SB) mixer for 800-950 GHz, based on superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions. This is the first waveguide 2SB SIS mixer demonstrated at such a high frequency. The design is following the classical quadrature hybrid architecture, meanwhile additional attention was put on the reduction of reflections in the RF structure in order to minimize the RF imbalance, to achieve a high image rejection ratio (IRR). The RF waveguide block was manufactured by micromilling and populated by single-ended SIS mixers developed earlier for upgrade of the CHAMP+ high-band array on the APEX telescope. These SIS mixers have double-sideband (DSB) noise temperatures from 210 to 400 K. The assembled 2SB mixer yields a SSB noise temperature from 450 to 900 K, with an IRR above 15 dB in 95% of the band. Comparing the DSB and the SSB sensitivities, we find that the waveguide losses are as low as expected and do not exceed 0.6 dB. The presented mixer is a prototype for use in a 2SB dual polarization receiver planned for deployment on the APEX telescope.
The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is the largest radio astronomical enterprise ever proposed. When completed, each of its 64 constituting radio-telescopes will be able to hold 10 heterodyne receivers covering the spectroscopic windows allowed by the atmospheric transmission at the construction site, the altiplanos of the northern Chilean Andes. In contrast to the sideband-separating (2SB) receivers being developed at low frequencies, double-side-band (DSB) receivers are being developed for the highest two spectroscopic windows (bands 9 and 10). Despite of the well known advantages of 2SB mixers over their DSB counterparts, they have not been implemented at the highest-frequency bands as the involved dimensions for some of the radio frequency components are prohibitory small. However, the current state-of-the-art micromachining technology has proved that the structures necessary for this development are attainable. Here we report the design, modeling, realization, and characterization of a 2SB mixer for band 9 of ALMA (600 to 720 GHz). At the heart of the mixer, two superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions are used as mixing elements. The constructed instrument presents an excellent performance as shown by two important figures of merit: noise temperature of the system and side band ratio, both of them within ALMA specifications.