Abstract:
We report on the development of a waveguide-based balanced superconducting mixer for operation near 2.7 THz. The mixer employs a pair of NbN hot-electron bolometers defin...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
We report on the development of a waveguide-based balanced superconducting mixer for operation near 2.7 THz. The mixer employs a pair of NbN hot-electron bolometers defined on 6 μm-thick silicon substrate that follows a 90 ° hybrid coupler. To produce the critical structures of the coupler and waveguide embedding circuit, we have utilized silicon micromachining techniques based on deep reactive ion etching. Operating near 4.2 K bath temperature, we have measured a minimum uncorrected DSB receiver noise temperature of less than 2000 K using Callen-Welton formula and local oscillator sideband noise rejection better than 13±3 dB at 2.74 THz. The concept is suitable for building arrays, readily scalable for higher frequencies up 5 THz, and could accommodate other mixer technologies, such as room-temperature Schottky diode mixers.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology ( Volume: 4, Issue: 5, September 2014)