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Progress in Electromagnetic Research Symposium

Single photon detection of the coherent THz radiation of HTS Josephson Junctions

Vladimir N Antonov, Rais S. Shaikhaidarov, Alexander Ya. Tzalenchuk

Published Aug 1, 2016• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The voltage biased individual Josephson Junction made of high temperature superconductor (HTS JJ) can potentially serve as the tuneable spectral source of terahertz radiation. The power is however relatively small, and one needs a sensitive detector in order to study and to optimise such a source. We use a single photon semiconductor quantum dot detector to probe the radiation of the HTS JJ. The detector is a resonant device with a spectral resolution of 30% at resonance frequency. Despite a rather wide resonance line the detector allows to discriminate between the coherent and the thermal radiation of HTS JJ. We found that HTS JJ emits to vacuum only 10-18W in a form of the coherent radiation, which is only ~ 4 × 10-10part of the total dissipated power. Partially a small conversion factor can be attributed to the non optimal coupling of the HTS JJ to the planar metallic antenna. The experiments reveal also a specific of the operation of the quantum dot detector itself. We observe two resonances at 0.3 THz and 0.8 THz. They are likely related to excitation of the plasma mode in the patterned two dimensional electron gas.

DOI
10.1109/piers.2016.7735306

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The voltage biased individual Josephson Junction made of high temperature superconductor (HTS JJ) can potentially serve as the tuneable spectral source of terahertz radiation. The power is however relatively small, and one needs a sensitive detector in order to study and to optimise such a source. We use a single photon semiconductor quantum dot detector to probe the radiation of the HTS JJ. The detector is a resonant device with a spectral resolution of 30% at resonance frequency. Despite a rather wide resonance line the detector allows to discriminate between the coherent and the thermal radiation of HTS JJ. We found that HTS JJ emits to vacuum only 10-18W in a form of the coherent radiation, which is only ~ 4 × 10-10part of the total dissipated power. Partially a small conversion factor can be attributed to the non optimal coupling of the HTS JJ to the planar metallic antenna. The experiments reveal also a specific of the operation of the quantum dot detector itself. We observe two resonances at 0.3 THz and 0.8 THz. They are likely related to excitation of the plasma mode in the patterned two dimensional electron gas.
Sources of light in the terahertz (THz) wavelength range are extensively researched, and tunable planar Josephson junctions seem promising.They can be used e.g.e.g.e.g. to calibrate sensitive detectors, but not all of the energy poured into the junctions is converted to THz light. Knowing how many photons come out is not simply a matter of knowing how much energy went in. To address this problem, the authors employ a detector that discriminates between coherent THz radiation and thermally induced blackbody radiation, with single-photon sensitivity.
We report a novel terahertz (THz) detector with a high- T c superconducting (HTS) Josephson junction. This detector was fabricated using a YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ grain boundary junction. Clear THz signals induced by THz-pulse radiation from an ultrafast photoconductive antenna excited by femtosecond optical pulses were observed. We investigated the characteristics of the detector by changing the parameters of THz radiation such as pump laser power for the THz emitter and THz polarization. The results indicate that the detector mainly detects the THz electric fields. This is the first demonstration of a detection of pulsed THz electric fields using an HTS Josephson junction.
The voltage response of a thin-film normal-metal hot-electron bolometer based on a SINIS (superconductor-insulator-normal metal-insulator-superconductor) structure to the radiation of a high-temperature Josephson junction in the terahertz frequency region was measured. Bolometers were integrated with planar log-periodic and double-dipole antennas, and Josephson junctions were integrated with log-periodic antennas. Measurements showed that the Josephson junction at a temperature of 260 mK was overheated by the transport current, so that its electron temperature exceeded 3 K at a bias voltage of 1 mV. The maximum response of a bolometer with a double-dipole antenna was observed at a frequency of 300 GHz, which agreed well with the calculated value. The Josephson radiation was observed at frequencies up to 1.7 THz. The voltage response of a bolometer reached 4×10 8 V/W, and the total noise-equivalent power reached 1.5×10 −17 W/Hz 1/2 .
For sensitive wideband spectroscopy at THz frequencies with performance better than for Fourier Transform Spectrometer, one needs a wide-range electrically tunable, narrow linewidth THz source, and a sensitive broadband detector. To obtain a low noise level of sensor we use a superconducting normal metal cold electron bolometer (CEB). A voltage response of the bolometer is 4.108 V/W and an amplifier-limited technical noise equivalent power of the bolometer is 1.25.10-17 W/Hz1/2. The wide band electrically tuned terahertz band cryogenic oscillator is a Josephson junction. Contrary to conventional Josephson junctions based on niobium, and naturally limited in frequency by energy gap of about 700 GHz, the high critical temperature YBaCuO junctions can extend this limit by an order of magnitude. At 4 K such oscillators can radiate at frequencies exceeding 2 THz. Signals received by bolometers integrated with double-dipole and log-periodic antennas and irradiated by the Josephson oscillator show in our experiments the high frequency response corresponding to an oscillation frequency of up to 1.75 THz. Such cryogenic terahertz network analyzer is suitable for low-signal spectral evaluation of cryogenic detectors, quasioptical sub-mm cryogenic filters, planar antennas with planar microwave filters, integrated structures comprising such elements, and arrays of cryogenic receivers.
Graphene Josephson junctions (JJ) provide a promising platform for ultra-broadband quantum sensing of light owing to graphene's frequency-independent absorption, vanishing electronic heat capacity, and weak electron-phonon coupling, which enable rapid suppression of the critical current through radiation-induced electron heating. Existing investigations have been confined to the microwave and infrared regimes, where competing detector technologies are already established; by contrast, the terahertz (THz) band - where sensitivity is most urgently lacking and no mature quantum sensor exists - has remained largerly unexplored. Here we demonstrate a strong photoresponse of graphene JJs at THz frequencies, establishing a first experimental step towards graphene-based THz quantum sensors. Under low-intensity illumination, we observe a pronounced suppression of the critical current that generates a strong photovoltage (Vph) under current bias. By tracking this Vph and independently measuring the electron temperature as a function of absorbed power, we extract a responsivity of 88 kV W^-1 and a noise-equivalent power of 45 aW Hz^-1/2 at 1.7 K. Furthermore, gate tunability of our JJ enables access to a regime where hysteretic current-voltage characteristics persist up to 0.9 K, offering a potential route toward single-photon THz detection beyond millikelvin (mK) temperatures. These findings establish graphene JJ as a versatile platform for broadband cryogenic radiation sensing and point towards their use as quantum sensors at THz frequencies.
High temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson junction (JJ) mixers are attractive candidates in receivers for terahertz (THz) communication due to their high sensitivity, wide bandwidth, low local oscillator (LO) power requirement and high harmonic numbers. The required LO frequencies and the cost can be greatly reduced when harmonic signals can be detected at high orders (more than 100). In this paper, up to 114thharmonic mixings is presented in a HTS bicrystal YBa2Cu3O7-δ(YBCO) JJ harmonic mixer coupled with a bowtie loaded meander antenna at 0.21 THz. HTS JJs will be promising high-order harmonic mixers for THz practical applications on reception or detection at THz bands.