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Physics of the Solid State

SINIS Bolometer with Microwave Readout

Michael A. Tarasov, Sumedh Mahashabde, Aleksandra A. Gunbina, Renat A. Yusupov, Artem M. Chekushkin, S. A. Lemzyakov, D. V. Nagirnaya, Maria Mansfeld, Vyacheslav F. Vdovin, Valeryan S. Edel'man, Alexei Kalaboukhov, Dag Winkler

Published Sep 1, 2020• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract A bolometer, which is based on a superconductor–insulator–normal metal–insulator–superconductor (SINIS) structure, integrated into a twin-slot antenna with a central frequency of 90 GHz, and connected with a superconducting microwave readout resonator, has been designed, fabricated, and experimentally studied. Such an elementary cell is designed for the multi-element array of a high-sensitive radioastronomic receiver, in which the readout from a great number of channels is performed by a single coaxial cable instead of separate wires and amplifier in each channel.

DOI
10.1134/s1063783420090292

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A phase-sensitive terahertz heterodyne mixer of a new type based on a cold-electron bolometer is proposed. In this mixer, a normal-metal thin-film absorber is connected to a planar antenna via superconductor-insulator-normal metal (SIN) tunnel junctions, thus forming a SINIS structure. The SINIS mixer combines the advantages of a hot-electron bolometer (HEB), such as a high signal frequency at a small local oscillator power, with the advantages of an SIS mixer, including low noise level, a high intermediate frequency, and wide working temperature range (up to a critical temperature of the superconductor). In contrast to the HEB and SIS mixers, the proposed device is less sensitive to external magnetic noise and exhibits no additional noise related to the superconducting transition and the Josephson effect.

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters•May 1, 2005•7 citations
Abstract A bolometer, which is based on a superconductor–insulator–normal metal–insulator–superconductor (SINIS) structure, integrated into a twin-slot antenna with a central frequency of 90 GHz, and connected with a superconducting microwave readout resonator, has been designed, fabricated, and experimentally studied. Such an elementary cell is designed for the multi-element array of a high-sensitive radioastronomic receiver, in which the readout from a great number of channels is performed by a single coaxial cable instead of separate wires and amplifier in each channel.
We have designed, fabricated, and experimentally studied a Superconductor-Insulator-Normal Metal-Insulator-Superconductor (SINIS) bolometer integrated in a twin-slot antenna with central frequency of 90 GHz and connected to a superconducting coplanar readout resonator. Such single pixel is intended for multichannel matrix of high-sensitive receiver for radioastronomy, in which readout of many channels is arranged via single coaxial cable instead of separate wires and separate amplifiers for each channel.
A superconductor-insulator-normal metal-insulator-superconductor (SINIS) detector integrated in a planar 90 GHz band twin-slot antenna with a 2 GHz superconducting resonator readout was fabricated and experimentally studied. In order to achieve high pixel count, the traditional dc readout of the SINIS detector is replaced by NbN coplanar 13.850 mm long superconducting resonator. SINIS detectors have traditionally dc Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) room-temperature readout. Such readout requires individual wiring for each pixel, while the microwave readout is far less cluttered as only one coaxial line is needed for hundreds of devices. Such readout operates similar to frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) for microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKID). The planar twin slot antenna has two parallel slots in a metal ground plane which are excited coherently by short sections of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) line with a SINIS detector at the center. One section of the CPW is extended past the slot in a long superconducting section which functions as a quarter wavelength resonator. This resonator is short circuited to the ground plane at the far end, with the expected open circuited end terminated by the SINIS detector in the antenna. We measured the response of sample to black body radiation temperatures 6 K and 9 K. The corresponding dynamic resistance maximum drops from 50 kΩ down to 30 kΩ. An RF readout channel comprising a coplanar coupler and a coplanar resonator has a resonant frequency of 1.8 GHz. Unloaded Q factor (without incoming irradiation) is 200. The signal spectral characteristics and the response to the black body radiation have shown design values as expected.
We have developed a Superconductor-Insulator-Normal Metal-Insulator-Superconductor (SINIS) bolometer with a suspended normal metal bridge. The suspended bridge acts as a bolometric absorber with reduced heat losses to the substrate. Such bolometers were characterized at 100-350 mK bath temperatures and electrical responsivity of over 10 9 V/W was measured by dc heating the absorber through additional contacts. Suspended bolometers were also integrated in planar twin-slot and log-periodic antennas for operation in the submillimetre-band of radiation. The measured voltage response to radiation at 300 GHz and at 100 mK bath temperature is 3*10 8 V/W and a current response is 1.1*10 4 A/W which corresponds to a quantum efficiency of ~15 electrons per photon. An important feature of such suspended bolometers is the thermalization of electrons in the absorber heated by optical radiation, which in turn provides better quantum efficiency. This has been confirmed by comparison of bolometric response to dc and rf heating. We investigate the performance of direct SN traps and NIS traps with a tunnel barrier between the superconductor and normal metal trap. Increasing the volume of superconducting electrode helps to reduce overheating of superconductor. Influence of Andreev reflection and Kapitza resistance, as well as electron-phonon heat conductivity and thermal conductivity of N-wiring are estimated for such SINIS devices.
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 .
The superconductor–insulator–normal metal–insulator–superconductor (SINIS) tunnel junction structure is the basic building block for various cryogenic devices. Microwave detectors, electron coolers, primary thermometers, and Aharonov–Bohm interferometers have been fabricated by various methods and measured at temperatures down to 100 mK. The manufacturing methods included Dolan-type shadow evaporation, Manhattan-type shadow evaporation, and magnetron sputtering with selective etching of superconducting and normal metal electrodes. Improvement in ultimate sensitivity is achieved by suspending the absorber above the substrate. Best responsivity of up to 30 electrons per photon at a frequency of 350 GHz, or 72000 A/W, and voltage responsivity up to 3.9 × 10 9 V/W were obtained with a black body radiation source and series of band-pass filters. The specially designed SINIS arrays are intended to detect 90 GHz radiation at the “Big Telescope Alt-azimuthal” (romanized Russian: “Bolshoi Teleskop Alt-azimutalnyi”, BTA) with noise equivalent power of less than 10 −16 W·Hz −1/2 . The receiver in a 3 He cryostat with an optical window was mounted at the Nasmyth focus of the BTA and tested at a temperature of 260 mK with a IMPATT diode radiation source.
A phase-sensitive terahertz heterodyne mixer of a new type based on a cold-electron bolometer is proposed. In this mixer, a normal-metal thin-film absorber is connected to a planar antenna via superconductor-insulator-normal metal (SIN) tunnel junctions, thus forming a SINIS structure. The SINIS mixer combines the advantages of a hot-electron bolometer (HEB), such as a high signal frequency at a small local oscillator power, with the advantages of an SIS mixer, including low noise level, a high intermediate frequency, and wide working temperature range (up to a critical temperature of the superconductor). In contrast to the HEB and SIS mixers, the proposed device is less sensitive to external magnetic noise and exhibits no additional noise related to the superconducting transition and the Josephson effect.