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Physics of the Solid State

Determining the Parameters of the SIS-Mixer at an Intermediate Frequency

Vodzianovskii Ya. O., Andrey V. Khudchenko, V. P. Koshelets

Published Jan 1, 2022• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The level of signal reflection at an intermediate frequency from an SIS-mixer was calculated and experimentally measured. The measurement was performed for the mixer in operation, namely, it was biased by voltage and the signal of the local oscillator was applied. It is shown that the power reflection coefficient can vary from -20 to -3 dB depending on the operating point. An experimental method for determining the impedance of the supply line of the SIS-mixer is proposed and tested. Keywords: superconductor--insulator--superconductor tunnel junction, intermediate frequency, submillimeter SIS-mixer.

DOI
10.21883/pss.2022.10.54220.42hh

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The level of signal reflection at an intermediate frequency from an SIS-mixer was calculated and experimentally measured. The measurement was performed for the mixer in operation, namely, it was biased by voltage and the signal of the local oscillator was applied. It is shown that the power reflection coefficient can vary from -20 to -3 dB depending on the operating point. An experimental method for determining the impedance of the supply line of the SIS-mixer is proposed and tested. Keywords: superconductor--insulator--superconductor tunnel junction, intermediate frequency, submillimeter SIS-mixer.
In this paper, we describe a measurement setup to characterize the intermediate frequency (IF) impedance of cryogenically cooled superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers. A setup based on a commercial vector network analyzer (VNA), a circulator and a low noise amplifier (LNA) has allowed to increase the dynamic of the VNA and to perform accurate one-port measurements across a high dynamic range of the SIS mixers IF band. The mixers were biased in three different regions of their unpumped IV curve to obtain three known impedances which are close to the classical calibration SOLT standards (Short, Open, Load, Thru): the reference plane was located at the SIS junction itself and the calibration procedure allowed to calibrate out all IF circuitry of the measurement setup, including the on-chip SIS mixer intrinsic capacitance and inductance without requiring to thermally cycle and open the cryostat to locate and measure the different calibration standards. Thus, the devised method provides a simple and direct measurement of the SIS mixers IF impedance which can be used for quick, accurate and highly repeatable IF characterization of any type of millimeter and sub-millimeter wave SIS mixers. The measurement method is described and the experimental results of the IF output impedances of 3 mm band DSB and SSB mixers with 4 GHz wide IFs (across 4-8 GHz) are presented and compared with simulated predictions obtained from combining Tucker's SIS mixer theory and accurate electromagnetic modeling of the mixer structure.
We describe a procedure for modeling the nonlinear, quantum-mechanical behavior of very high harmonic superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers. A typical mixer is pumped by a strong microwave source at 10–15GHz, which causes high-harmonic (20–40) currents to flow, any one of which can be used as a local oscillator to downconvert a submillimeter-wave signal to a low microwave frequency, 1–8GHz. This mode of operation is attractive for measuring the beam patterns of conventional SIS mixers, because only a single submillimeter-wave source is needed. We conducted simulations using the 20th harmonic of a 13.5GHz microwave source, downconverting a 271.4GHz signal to a 1.4GHz intermediate frequency. These simulations clearly show that linear downconversion can be achieved even for relatively high levels of rf signal power; although, care is needed when choosing the operating point. The patterns of behavior seen in the simulations are in remarkable agreement with recently published experimental results.
Theoretical research has been conducted to elucidate the basic physics behind the properties of superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction receiving devices. The properties of SIS mixers using nonideal junctions and finite LO power, were determined by analytic expansion of the equations of the quantum theory of mixing, and also by computer simulations of SIS receivers over the entire range of experimental parameters. The result is a new coherent and intuitive picture of SIS mixer behavior. Many of the outstanding mysteries and questions about SIS receivers are resolved, and this contributes greatly to the design and interpretation of SIS mixer experiments. Other calculations show how to achieve sub-quantum noise temperatures in the phase sensitive SIS mixer, an important step towards realization of ultra-low- noise detectors. A simplified model casts doubt on the superlative experimental results reported for the rf-series dc-parallel biased array SIS mixer. Superconductivity; SIS mixer; Submillimeter-wave detection.
Josephson currents have been observed to drain instabilities and decrease the sensitivity of a heterodyne superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) receiver operated at submillimeter wavelengths. A static magnetic field is usually applied on the SIS junction to reduce the magnitude of its critical Josephson currents and enable quasiparticle mixing. We measured the SIS mixer output power at the intermediate frequency (IF) versus the dc bias voltage of an array of two 1 μm2 Nb/Al–Al2O3/Nb junctions. We show evidence of additional, magnetic-field-sensitive noise, peaked at the Shapiro steps voltages, which is due to high-frequency Josephson currents converted to the IF by quasiparticle mixing.
The characteristics of SIS (Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor) harmonic mixing were studied in the millimeter and submillimeter regions. IF (Intermediate Frequency) signals originating from the Josephson effect and the photon-assisted tunneling were observed. Each property was investigated by applying a magnetic field. Compared with mixing based on photon-assisted tunneling, mixing by the Josephson effect required low LO (Local Oscillator) power and gave rise to a smaller conversion loss, but more noise.