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andwidth of diffusion-cooled hot-electron bolometers

Boris S. Karasik

Published Jan 1, 1997• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

noise results have already been acheived[2] (TR~~~~~~,. = 650 K DSB at 530 GHz). The intermediate frequency (IF) guan bandwidth was a limitation for past bolometric mixers. We recently showed that the IF gain bandwidth can be as large as 6 GHz when the device length is short enough that diffusion-cooling of hot electrons out the ends dominates over phonon-emission as the cooling mechanism[3]. (NbN phonon-cooled mixers can operate with an IF to a few GHz[4] .) The IF nozse bandwidth has not been extensively studied in diffusion cooled mixers; in this paper we present a study for one such device. The main limitation for any bolometric mixer is that the IF guan bandwzdth (defined as the IF frequency at which the conversion efficiency drops by 3dB from its low frequency value) is limited by the thermal time-constant 7th. The conversion efficiency obeys the functional form where the 3dB gain bandwidth is given by fgain3dB = 1/2n~,h[5]. The dominant intrinsic noise source for a well optimized superconducting bolometric mixer is predicted

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Applied Physics Letters•Jan 17, 2011•77 citations
noise results have already been acheived[2] (TR~~~~~~,. = 650 K DSB at 530 GHz). The intermediate frequency (IF) guan bandwidth was a limitation for past bolometric mixers. We recently showed that the IF gain bandwidth can be as large as 6 GHz when the device length is short enough that diffusion-cooling of hot electrons out the ends dominates over phonon-emission as the cooling mechanism[3]. (NbN phonon-cooled mixers can operate with an IF to a few GHz[4] .) The IF nozse bandwidth has not been extensively studied in diffusion cooled mixers; in this paper we present a study for one such device. The main limitation for any bolometric mixer is that the IF guan bandwzdth (defined as the IF frequency at which the conversion efficiency drops by 3dB from its low frequency value) is limited by the thermal time-constant 7th. The conversion efficiency obeys the functional form where the 3dB gain bandwidth is given by fgain3dB = 1/2n~,h[5]. The dominant intrinsic noise source for a well optimized superconducting bolometric mixer is predicted
We present studies of the input and output noise of diffusion cooled hot-electron bolometer mixers. By simultaneously measuring the gain and noise (with a 14 GHz LO) as a function of intermediate frequency for a 0.16 /spl mu/m diffusion cooled Nb device, we show that the noise bandwidth (4 GHz) is larger than the gain bandwidth (2.4 GHz). The output noise is 55 K, and the mixer noise is very low, 340 K DSB. This shows that diffusion cooled devices have low noise over a broad enough intermediate frequency band for practical applications in THz receivers.
A systematic study of the intermediate frequency noise bandwidth of Nb thin-film superconducting hot-electron bolometers is presented. We have measured the spectrum of the output noise as well as the conversion efficiency over a very broad intermediate frequency range (from 0.1 to 7.5 GHz) for devices varying in length from 0.08 μm to 3 μm. Local oscillator and rf signals from 8 to 40 GHz were used. For a device of a given length, the spectrum of the output noise and the conversion efficiency behave similarly for intermediate frequencies less than the gain bandwidth, in accordance with a simple thermal model for both the mixing and thermal fluctuation noise. For higher intermediate frequencies the conversion efficiency decreases; in contrast, the noise decreases but has a second contribution which dominates at higher frequency. The noise bandwidth is larger than the gain bandwidth, and the mixer noise is low, between 120 and 530 K (double side band).
We report a systematic, comprehensive set of measurements on the dynamics and noise processes in diffusion and phonon-cooled superconducting hot-electron bolometer mixers which will serve as ultralow noise detectors in THz heterodyne receivers. The conversion efficiency and output noise of devices of varying lengths were measured with radio frequency between 8 and 40 GHz. The devices studied consist of 100-Å-thin film Nb bridges connected to thick (1000 Å), high conductivity normal metal (Au) leads. The lengths of the devices studied range from 0.08 to 3 μm. For devices longer than the electron–phonon interaction length Le–ph≡Dτe–ph, with D the diffusion constant and τe–ph−1 the electron–phonon interaction rate, the hot electrons are cooled dominantly by the electron–phonon interaction, which in Nb is too slow for practical applications. If the device length is less than πLe–ph(≈1 μm at 4.2 K), then out diffusion of heat into the high conductivity leads dominates the cooling process. In this limit, the intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth is found to vary as L−2, with L the bridge length, as expected for diffusion cooling. The shortest device has an IF bandwidth greater than 6 GHz, the largest reported for a low-Tc superconducting bolometric mixer. The dominant component of the output noise decreases with frequency in the same manner as the conversion efficiency, consistent with a model based on thermal fluctuations. The noise bandwidth is larger than the gain bandwidth, and the mixer noise is low, ranging from 100 to 530 K (double sideband). The crossover from phonon dominated to diffusion dominated behavior is also demonstrated using noise thermometry measurements in the normal state. Scalar measurements of the device differential impedance in the intermediate state agree with a theoretical model which takes into account the thermal and electrical dynamics. We also present detailed comparisons with theoretical predictions of the output noise and conversion efficiency.
Mixing experiments have been performed at frequencies from 4 to 20 GHz on Nb thin-film superconducting hot-electron bolometers varying in length from 0.08 to 3 μm. The intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth is found to vary as L−2, with L the bridge length, for devices shorter than √12 Le−ph≊1 μm, with Le−ph the electron-phonon length. The shortest device has an IF bandwidth greater than 6 GHz, the largest reported for a low-Tc superconducting bolometric mixer. The conversion efficiencies range from −5 to −11 dB (single sideband, SSB). For short bridges, the mixer noise temperature is found to be as low as 100 K (double sideband, DSB), with little length dependence. The local oscillator power required is small, ≊10 nW. Such mixers are very promising for low-noise THz heterodyne receivers.
Diffusion-cooled Nb hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers have the potential to simultaneously achieve high intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidths and low mixer noise temperatures for operation at THz frequencies (above the superconductive gap energy). We have measured the IF signal bandwidth at 630 GHz of Nb devices with lengths L = 0.3, 0.2, and 0.1 micrometer in a quasioptical mixer configuration employing twin-slot antennas. The 3-dB EF bandwidth increased from 1.2 GHz for the 0.3 gm long device to 9.2 GHz for the 0.1 gm long device. These results demonstrate the expected 1/L squared dependence of the IF bandwidth at submillimeter wave frequencies for the first time, as well as the largest EF bandwidth obtained to date. For the 0.1 gm device, which had the largest bandwidth, the double sideband (DSB) noise temperature of the receiver was 320-470 K at 630 GHz with an absorbed LO power of 35 nW, estimated using the isothermal method. A version of this mixer with the antenna length scaled for operation at 2.5 THz has also been tested. A DSB receiver noise temperature of 1800 plus or minus 100 K was achieved, which is about 1,000 K lower than our previously reported results. These results demonstrate that large EF bandwidth and low-noise operation of a diffusion-cooled HEB mixer is possible at THz frequencies with the same device geometry.
We report a record double sideband noise temperature of 600 K (5hν/kB) offered by a NbN hot-electron bolometer receiver at 2.5 THz. Allowing for standing wave effects, this value was found to be constant in the intermediate frequency range 1–7 GHz, which indicates that the mixer has an unprecedentedly large noise bandwidth in excess of 7 GHz. The insight into this is provided by gain bandwidth measurements performed at the superconducting transition. They show that the dependence of the bandwidth on the mixer length follows the model for an HEB mixer with diffusion and phonon cooling of the hot electrons.