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Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC)

600-696GHz Heterodyne Receiver with Fixed-Tuned SIS Mixer and Martin-Puplett LO/RF Diplexer

Yuh-Jing Hwang, Ming-Jye Wang, Homin Jiang, Ming‐Tang Chen, Sheng‐Cai Shi, Qijun Yao

Published Mar 22, 2006• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

A heterodyne receiver equipped with fixed-tuned superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer is developed and characterized. A Martin-Puplett interferometer is used in the receiver as diplexer to combine the RF/LO signal. The receiver noise measurement indicates the lowest receiver noise temperature including the optical loss of the MPI is as low as 250K. The receiver noise temperature is below 400K in the IF center frequency and below 500K over whole IF passband for LO frequency tuned between 624-696GHz.

DOI
10.1109/apmc.2005.1606238

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A heterodyne receiver equipped with fixed-tuned superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer is developed and characterized. A Martin-Puplett interferometer is used in the receiver as diplexer to combine the RF/LO signal. The receiver noise measurement indicates the lowest receiver noise temperature including the optical loss of the MPI is as low as 250K. The receiver noise temperature is below 400K in the IF center frequency and below 500K over whole IF passband for LO frequency tuned between 624-696GHz.
We have developed a low-noise balanced superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer using a waveguide 3-dB 90-degree hybrid coupler over the radio frequency (RF) range of 790-950 GHz and intermediate frequency range of 4-12 GHz at an operating temperature of 4 K. The RF coupler was carefully designed in regards to machining errors so that the entire amplitude imbalance including the mixer gain became smaller. The fabricated coupler was characterized at both room and cryogenic temperature. The receiver noise temperature of the balanced SIS mixer was below 350 K over the entire frequency band and the local oscillator (LO) noise rejection ratio was estimated to be more than 15 dB. This result is equivalent to state-ofthe-art mixer performance at this frequency range.
The non-linear quasiparticle tunnel current flowing in a distributed superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) transmission line resonator has been exploited in a low-noise heterodyne fixed-tuned waveguide receiver in the 600-720 GHz band. The mixer employs two 1.4 /spl mu/m wide half-wave or full-wave distributed SIS long junctions that are connected in series. These devices have been fabricated with optical lithography. Noise temperatures of 160-240 K have been measured at around 600 GHz. However, the achieved RF bandwidth is only about 5 % and the center frequency of the resonance is also shifted towards lower end of the target frequencies.
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Abstract We developed a low-noise, compact, balanced superconductor–insulator–superconductor (SIS) mixer, operating in the 787–950 GHz radio frequency range. A waveguide mixer block was designed to integrate all the key components, such as a radio frequency (RF) 90° hybrid coupler, two identical SIS mixer chips, bias-tees, and an intermediate frequency power-combiner. The RF waveguide 90° hybrid coupler consists of branch lines with wide slots optimized by numerical simulation, for ease of fabrication. The balanced mixer was installed into a cartridge type receiver, originally developed for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Band 10 (787–950 GHz). The receiver demonstrated double sideband noise temperatures of approximately 200 K for most of the band, without any correction for loss in front of the receiver. The local oscillator noise rejection ratio was estimated to be more than 15 dB within the measured frequency range.
The most sensitive heterodyne receivers used formillimeter wave and submillimeter wave radioastronomyemploy superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS)tunnel junctions as the nonlinear mixing element. Goodperformance has recently been reported for SIS junctionsused in planar mixer circuits and waveguide mixers fromabout 300 GHz to 500 GHz. We have developed asubmillimeter wave SIS heterodyne receiver for observingimportant rotational transitions of molecules in theinterstellar medium near 550 GHz and 630 GHz. Thisreceiver is based on a waveguide mixer with an adjustablebackshort and E-plane tuner [1]. The mixer uses a highcurrent density, 0.25 gm2 Nb-A1Ox-Nb tunnel junctiondefined by electron beam lithography [2]. The capacitanceof the junction is compensated with an integrated RFsuperconductive microstrip tuning circuit. The receiverperformance has been measured over the frequency range460 GHz to 640 GHz. DSB receiver noise temperatures aslow as 200 ± 17 K at 540 GHz and 362 ± 33 K at626 GHz have been obtained. In addition, negativedifferential resistance has been observed in the DC I-Vcurve at frequencies around 491 GHz. These results indicatethat the superconductive Nb microstrip transmission linesused in the tuning circuits are low-loss and perform well upto at least 90% of the superconductor energy gap frequency.
A heterodyne receiver using an SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) waveguide mixer with two mechanical tuners has been built and characterized over the frequency range of 460 GHz to 630 GHz. This receiver is designed for radioastronomy applications. The mixer uses high-current-density, 0.25- mu m/sup 2/, Nb/AlO/sub x//Nb SIS tunnel junctions with integrated superconductive RF circuits to tune the junction capacitance. A DSB (double sideband) receiver noise temperature as low as 200+or-17 K has been obtained at 540 GHz. In addition, negative differential resistance has been observed in the DC I-V (current-voltage) curve at 487-491 GHz.>