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Characterization of MgB2 Superconducting Hot Electron BolometersHot-Electron Bolometer (HEB) mixers have proven to be the best tool for high-resolution spectroscopy at the Terahertz frequencies. However, the current state of the art NbN mixers suffer from a small intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth as well as a low operating temperature. MgB2 is a promising material for HEB mixer technology in view of its high critical temperature and fast thermal relaxation allowing for a large IF bandwidth. In this work, we have fabricated and characterized thin-film (approximately 15 nanometers) MgB2-based spiral antenna-coupled HEB mixers on SiC substrate. We achieved the IF bandwidth greater than 8 gigahertz at 25 degrees Kelvin and the device noise temperature less than 4000 degrees Kelvin at 9 degrees Kelvin using a 600 gigahertz source. Using temperature dependencies of the radiation power dissipated in the device we have identified the optical loss in the integrated microantenna responsible as a cause of the limited sensitivity of the current mixer devices. From the analysis of the current-voltage (IV) characteristics, we have derived the effective thermal conductance of the mixer device and estimated the required local oscillator power in an optimized device to be approximately 1 microwatts.
Document ID
20160005631
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Cunnane, D.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Kawamura, J. H.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Wolak, M. A.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Acharya, N.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Tan, T.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Xi, X. X.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Karasik, B. S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
May 2, 2016
Publication Date
August 10, 2014
Subject Category
Instrumentation And Photography
Solid-State Physics
Report/Patent Number
ASC2014-1EOr1C-02
Meeting Information
Meeting: IEEE Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC 2014)
Location: Charlotte, NC
Country: United States
Start Date: August 10, 2014
End Date: August 15, 2014
Sponsors: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Superconducting Devices
Terahertz Mixers

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