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Low Noise SIS Mixer for the Frequency above 1 THz

Alexandre Karpov, D. Miller, Jonas Stasys Zmuidzinas, Jeff A. Stern, B. Bumble, Henry George LeDuc

Published Jan 1, 2002• 1 citation
OpenAlex

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Low Noise 1 THz–1.4 THz Mixers Using Nb/Al-AlN/NbTiN SIS Junctions

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We present the development of a low noise 1.2 THz and 1.4 THz SIS mixers for heterodyne spectrometry on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and Herschel Space Observatory. This frequency range is above the limit for the commonly used Nb quasi particle SIS junctions, and a special type of hybrid Nb/AlN/NbTiN junctions has been developed for this project. We are using a quasi-optical mixer design with two Nb/AlN/NbTiN junctions with an area of 0.25. The SIS junction tuning circuit is made of Nb and gold wire layers. At 1.13 THz the minimum SIS receiver uncorrected noise temperature is 450 K. The SIS receiver noise corrected for the loss in the LO coupler and in the cryostat optics is 350-450 K across 1.1-1.25 THz band. The receiver has a uniform sensitivity in a full 4-8 GHz IF band. The 1.4 THz SIS receiver test at 1.33-1.35 THz gives promising results, although limited by the level of available LO power. Extrapolation of the data obtained with low LO power level shows a possibility to reach 500 K DSB receiver noise using already existing SIS mixer.

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We present a low noise SIS mixer developed for the 1.2 THz band of the heterodyne spectrometer of the Herschel Space Observatory. With the launch of the Herschel SO in 2007, this device will be among the first SIS mixers flown in space. This SIS mixer has a quasi optical design, with a double slot planar antenna and an extended spherical lens made of pure Si. The SIS junctions are Nb/A1N/NbTiN with a critical current density of about 30 KA/cm2 and with the junction area of a quarter of a micron square. Our mixer circuit uses two SIS junctions biased in parallel. To improve the simultaneous suppression of the Josephson current in each of them, we use diamond-shaped junctions. A low loss Nb/Au micro-strip transmission line is used for the first time in the mixer circuit well above the gap frequency of Nb. The minimum uncorrected Double Sideband receiver noise is 550 K (Y=1.34). The minimum receiver noise corrected for the local oscillator beam splitter and for the cryostat window is 340 K, about 6 hv/k, the lowest value achieved thus far in the THz frequencies range.

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Low noise Nb-based SIS mixer for sub-millimeter wave detection

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Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids•Sep 1, 2001•7 citations
We present the development of a low noise 1.2 THz and 1.4 THz SIS mixers for heterodyne spectrometry on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and Herschel Space Observatory. This frequency range is above the limit for the commonly used Nb quasi particle SIS junctions, and a special type of hybrid Nb/AlN/NbTiN junctions has been developed for this project. We are using a quasi-optical mixer design with two Nb/AlN/NbTiN junctions with an area of 0.25. The SIS junction tuning circuit is made of Nb and gold wire layers. At 1.13 THz the minimum SIS receiver uncorrected noise temperature is 450 K. The SIS receiver noise corrected for the loss in the LO coupler and in the cryostat optics is 350-450 K across 1.1-1.25 THz band. The receiver has a uniform sensitivity in a full 4-8 GHz IF band. The 1.4 THz SIS receiver test at 1.33-1.35 THz gives promising results, although limited by the level of available LO power. Extrapolation of the data obtained with low LO power level shows a possibility to reach 500 K DSB receiver noise using already existing SIS mixer.
We present a low noise SIS mixer developed for the 1.2 THz band of the heterodyne spectrometer of the Herschel Space Observatory. With the launch of the Herschel SO in 2007, this device will be among the first SIS mixers flown in space. This SIS mixer has a quasi optical design, with a double slot planar antenna and an extended spherical lens made of pure Si. The SIS junctions are Nb/A1N/NbTiN with a critical current density of about 30 KA/cm2 and with the junction area of a quarter of a micron square. Our mixer circuit uses two SIS junctions biased in parallel. To improve the simultaneous suppression of the Josephson current in each of them, we use diamond-shaped junctions. A low loss Nb/Au micro-strip transmission line is used for the first time in the mixer circuit well above the gap frequency of Nb. The minimum uncorrected Double Sideband receiver noise is 550 K (Y=1.34). The minimum receiver noise corrected for the local oscillator beam splitter and for the cryostat window is 340 K, about 6 hv/k, the lowest value achieved thus far in the THz frequencies range.