Title :
A 1-THz superconducting hot-electron-bolometer receiver for astronomical observations
Author :
Meledin, Denis V. ; Marrone, Daniel P. ; Tong, C. Y Edward ; Gibson, Hugh ; Blundell, Raymond ; Paine, Scott N. ; Papa, D. Cosmo ; Smith, Michael ; Hunter, Todd R. ; Battat, James ; Voronov, Boris ; Gol´tsman, Gregory
Author_Institution :
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophys., Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract :
In this paper, we describe a superconducting hot-electron-bolometer mixer receiver developed to operate in atmospheric windows between 800-1300 GHz. The receiver uses a waveguide mixer element made of 3-4-nm-thick NbN film deposited over crystalline quartz. This mixer yields double-sideband receiver noise temperatures of 1000 K at around 1.0 THz, and 1600 K at 1.26 THz, at an IF of 3.0 GHz. The receiver was successfully tested in the laboratory using a gas cell as a spectral line test source. It is now in use on the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory terahertz test telescope in northern Chile.
Keywords :
astronomical instruments; bolometers; hot carriers; niobium compounds; submillimetre astronomy; submillimetre wave mixers; submillimetre wave receivers; superconducting device noise; superconducting mixers; 1-THz superconducting hot-electron-bolometer receiver; 1000 K; 1600 K; 3 GHz; 800 to 1300 GHz; NbN; Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory terahertz test telescope; astronomical observations; atmospheric windows; crystalline quartz; double-sideband receiver noise; gas cell; northern Chile; spectral line test source; thick NbN film; waveguide mixer; Astrophysics; Electrons; Frequency; Laboratories; Receivers; Superconducting device noise; Superconducting devices; Superconducting films; Telescopes; Testing; HEB; Hot-electron-bolometer; mixers; submillimeter-wave technology; terahertz astronomy;
Journal_Title :
Microwave Theory and Techniques, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TMTT.2004.835979
