Low-noise submillimeter receivers using single-diode harmonicmixers

Submillimeter Schottky diode mixers operating on the second LO harmonic have been built, achieving noise temperatures only 1.3-1.5 times higher than those of fundamental mixers at the same frequency. These mixers use only a single diode junction for ease of fabrication, and allow construction of a complete receiver of greatly reduced complexity relative to those using fundamental mixers. Several such mixers have been built for frequencies from 490 to 670 GHz. These mixers are pumped by frequency multipliers driven by InP Gunn oscillators, with a net LO input which is typically 2 mW. The best results are receiver noise temperatures of 4600 K SSB at 550 GHz and 5100 K at 665 GHz. The theory of mixer noise and conversion loss agrees fairly well with the experimental results, and this same theory predicts that a third-harmonic mixer near 1 THz would also achieve excellent performance     

太赫兹宽带分谐波混频器设计

太赫兹分谐波混频器的变频损耗、噪声系数等指标与基波混频器相近,且本振频率为射频频率的一半,大大 降低了本振源的设计难度和制作成本,是高性能太赫兹接收前端的关键部件。本文介绍了一种覆盖全波导带宽的太赫 兹宽带分谐波混频器的设计,对电路中射频波导至悬置带线过渡结构和本振中频双工器进行仿真和优化设计。并以 0.14~0.22THz 分谐波混频器为例进行设计和制作,测试结果表明0.14 ~0.22THz 分谐波混频器在全波导频段内最大变频 损耗低于15dB,中频3dB 带宽大于20GHz。     

A planar wideband 80-200 GHz subharmonic receiver

A wideband planar subharmonic mixer has been designed for millimeter-wave operation. The receiver consists of a back-to-back Schottky-diode pair integrated at the base of a wideband log-periodic antenna and placed on a silicon lens. The wideband planar receiver results in state-of-the art-performance at 90 GHz (and 182 GHz) with a double-sideband conversion loss and noise temperature of 6.7 dB (and 8.5 dB) and 1080 K (and 1820 K), respectively. These results are about 3 dB higher than the results for best tuned waveguide subharmonic mixers using planar diodes. The design is well suited for higher frequencies (up to 1 THz) and for the inclusion of biased back-to-back planar diodes to ease the LO power requirements. The planar subharmonic approach results in an inexpensive wideband receiver, and the design can be easily extended to receiver arrays     

180–425 GHz low noise SIS waveguide receivers employing tuned Nb/AIO x /Nb tunnel junctions

We report recent results on a 20% reduced height 270–425 GHz SIS waveguide receiver employing a 0.49 µm² Nb/AlO _x /Nb tunnel junction. A 50% operating bandwidth is achieved by using a RF compensated junction mounted in a two-tuner reduced height waveguide mixer block. The junction uses an “end-loaded” tuning stub with two quarter-wave transformer sections. We demonstrate that the receiver can be tuned to give 0–2 dB of conversion gain and 50–80% quantum efficiency over parts of it's operating range. The measured instantaneous bandwidth of the receiver is ≈ 25 GHz which ensures virtually perfect double sideband mixer response. Best noise temperatures are typically obtained with a mixer conversion loss of 0.5 to 1.5 dB giving uncorrected receiver and mixer noise temperatures of 50K and 42K respectively at 300 and 400 GHz. The measured double sideband receiver noise temperature is less than 100K from 270 GHz to 425 GHz with a best value of 48K at 376 GHz, within a factor of five of the quantum limit. The 270–425 GHz receiver has a full 1 GHz IF passband and has been successfully installed at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii. Preliminary tests of a similar junction design in a full height 230 GHz mixer block indicate large conversion gain and receiver noise temperatures below 50K DSB from 200–300 GHz. Best operation is again achieved with the mixer tuned for 0.5–1.5 dB conversion loss which at 258 GHz resulted in receiver and mixer noise temperature of 34K and 27K respectively.     

THz Waveguide Mixers With NbTiN HEBs on Silicon Nitride Membranes

We describe the design and performance of waveguide mixers at 1.4 THz and 1.9 THz based on NbTiN phonon-cooled hot electron bolometers (HEBs) fabricated on a 2-mum thick Si₃N₄ membrane. The membrane is bonded to a silicon frame in the mixer block using a flip chip process. Simulated RF coupling is compared with experimental results, showing good agreement. Receiver noise temperature measurements show uncorrected values of 1600 K at 1.4 THz and 2100 K at 1.9 THz, both at 1.5GHz intermediate frequency. Device cooling on the membrane seems not to be problematic. The mixers are used in receivers for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) [German REceiver At THz frequencies (GREAT)] and the Atacama path finder experiment (APEX) [CO, N⁺, deuterium observations receiver (CONDOR)]     

220 GHz 二次谐波混频器集成模块

在220 GHz二次谐波混频器的设计基础上,提出中频传输波导的垂直转换结构,实现了四通道混频器集成模块方案,缩短了混频器单通道的横向尺寸,为太赫兹接收机系统多通道线阵列集成提供了可行性方案。为优化系统模型的准确性,基于TCAD对肖特基势垒二极管进行三维半导体器件建模计算,依据提取的关键特性参数进行混频器的高频电磁波仿真。通过对该设计方案进行测试,结果表明:当本振频率为110 GHz,功率为7 dBm,射频输入200~240 GHz,混频器的单边带变频损耗为8.6~13 dB,在204~238 GHz的单边带变频损耗为8.6~11.3 dB。当本振频率为108 GHz时,驱动功率仅需3 dBm。此外,基于该混频器模块构建的220 GHz接收机系统,积分时间为700 μs时其温度灵敏度为1.3 K。     

A Low-Noise Terahertz SIS Mixer Incorporating a Waveguide Directional Coupler for LO Injection

We have developed a low-noise heterodyne waveguide Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) mixer with a novel local oscillator (LO) injection scheme for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) band 10, over the frequency range 0.78–0.95 THz. The SIS mixer uses radio frequency (RF) and LO receiving horns separately and a waveguide 10 dB LO coupler integrated in the mixer block. The insertion loss of the waveguide and coupling factor of the coupler were evaluated at terahertz frequencies at both room and cryogenic temperatures. The double-sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperatures were below 330 K (7.5hf/k _B) at LO frequencies in the range 0.801–0.945 THz. The minimum temperature was 221 K at 0.873 THz over the intermediate frequency range of 4–12 GHz at an operating temperature of 4 K. This waveguide heterodyne SIS mixer exhibits great potential for practical applications, such as high-frequency receivers of the ALMA.     

Cryogenic Millimeter-Wave Receiver Using Molecular Beam Epitaxy Diodes

A millimeter-wave cryogenic receiver has been built for the 60-90-GHz frequency band using GaAs mixer diodes prepared by molecuIar beam epitaxy (MBE). The diodes are mounted in a reduced-height image rejecting waveguide mixer which is followed by a cooled parametric amplifier at 4.5-5.0 GHz. At a temperature of 18 K the receiver has a total single-sideband (SSB) system temperature of 312 K at a frequency of 81 GHz. This is the lowest system temperature ever reported for a resistive mixer receiver. The low-noise operation of the mixer is seen to be a result of 1) the short-circuiting of the noise entering the image port and 2) an MBE mixer diode with a noise temperature which is consistent with the theoretical shot noise from the junction and the thermal noise from the series resistance.     

A Fixed Tuned Low Noise 600-700 GHz SIS Receiver

We have designed and fabricated a fixed tuned low noise 600-700 GHz SIS mixer. Twin junctions connected in parallel was employed in the mixer design. A short microstrip tuning structure was used to minimize the RF signal loss at frequency above the energy gap. A receiver noise temperature below 200 K (without any loss correction) in the frequency range of 630 to 660 GHz was recorded. The lowest noise temperature of the receiver was 181 K (without any loss correction) at 656 GHz.     

A low noise SIS receiver covering the frequency range 215–250 GHz

We have developed a heterodyne receiver incorporating an SIS mixer for use on a radiotelescope operating at 1.3 mm wavelength. The mixer has a minimum conversion loss of <2 dB and contributes less than 60 K to a total double side band receiver noise temperature of about 80 K at 220 GHz and 230 GHz. To our knowledge this represents the lowest receiver noise ever reported in this frequency range.     

2.5-THz GaAs monolithic membrane-diode mixer

A novel GaAs monolithic membrane-diode (MOMED) structure has been developed and implemented as a 2.5-THz Schottky diode mixer. The mixer blends conventional machined metallic waveguide with micromachined monolithic GaAs circuitry to form, for the first time, a robust, easily fabricated, and assembled room-temperature planar diode receiver at frequencies above 2 THz. Measurements of receiver performance, in air, yield at T_receiver of 16500-K double sideband (DSB) at 8.4-GHz intermediate frequency (IF) using a 150-K commercial Miteq amplifier. The receiver conversion loss (diplexer through IF amplifier input) measures 16.9 dB in air, yielding a derived “front-end” noise temperature below 9000-K DSB at 2514 GHz. Using a CO₂-pumped methanol far-infrared laser as a local oscillator at 2522 GHz, injected via a Martin-Puplett diplexer, the required power is ≈5 mW for optimum pumping and can be reduced to less than 3 mW with a 15% increase in receiver noise. Although demonstrated as a simple submillimeter-wave mixer, the all-GaAs membrane structure that has been developed is suited to a wide variety of low-loss high-frequency radio-frequency circuits     

A 275–425-GHz Tunerless Waveguide Receiver Based on AlN-Barrier SIS Technology

We report on a 275-425-GHz tunerless waveguide receiver with a 3.5-8-GHz IF. As the mixing element, we employ a high-current-density Nb-AlN-Nb superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) tunnel junction. Thanks to the combined use of AlN-barrier SIS technology and a broad bandwidth waveguide to thin-film microstrip transition, we are able to achieve an unprecedented 43% instantaneous bandwidth, limited by the receiver's corrugated feedhorn. The measured double-sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature, uncorrected for optics loss, ranges from 55 K at 275 GHz, 48 K at 345 GHz, to 72 K at 425 GHz. In this frequency range, the mixer has a DSB conversion loss of 2.3 plusmn1 dB. The intrinsic mixer noise is found to vary between 17-19 K, of which 9 K is attributed to shot noise associated with leakage current below the gap. To improve reliability, the IF circuit and bias injection are entirely planar by design. The instrument was successfully installed at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO), Mauna Kea, HI, in October 2006.     

A 650-GHz Band SIS Receiver for Balloon-Borne Limb-Emission Sounder

A superconducting low-noise receiver has been developed for atmospheric observations in the 650-GHz band. A waveguide-type tunerless mixer mount was designed based on one for the 200-GHz band. Two niobium SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) junctions were connected by a tuning inductance to cancel the junction capacitance. We designed the ωR_nC_j product to be 8 and the current density to be 5.5 kA/cm². The measured receiver noise temperature in DSB was 126-259 K in the frequency range of 618-660 GHz at an IF of 5.2 GHz, and that in the IF band (5-7 GHz) was 126-167 K at 621 GHz. Direct detection measurements using a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) showed the frequency response of the SIS mixer to be in the range of about 500-700 GHz. The fractional bandwidth was about 14%. The SIS receiver will be installed in a balloon-borne limb-emission sounder that will be launched from Sanriku Balloon Center in Japan.     

A low noise SIS array receiver for radioastronomical applications in the 35–50 GHz band

Arrays of six superconducting tunnel junctions have been used in a heterodyne receiver over the frequency range 35–50 GHz. The mixer array and a 3.7–4.2 GHz parametric amplifier used as the if amplifier are immersed in liquid helium and operated at 2 K. The high if allows single sideband operation with a system noise temperature varying rather smoothly from 220 K at 35 GHz to 140 K at 50 GHz. Mixer noise temperatures between 11 and 21 K were measured over the band indicating that the use of arrays to enhance the dynamic range does not seriously affect the mixer noise performance in this frequency range. The receiver is used for radio astronomical observations in the Onsala 20 m telescope in Sweden.     

基于Schottky二极管和Hammer-Head滤波器0.67 THz二次谐波混频器

通过测量肖特基二极管的I-V和C-V曲线,建立等效电路模型.利用三维电磁场和谐波平衡仿真工具分别进行三维结构仿真和电路宽带匹配,最终实现混合集成方式的0.67THz谐波混频器设计.测试结果表明:混频器中心频率为0.685 THz,射频3 dB带宽为47 GHz,双边带变频损耗13.1~16 dB,在685 GHz双边带噪声温度最低值为11500 K.     

AN UNCOOLED VERY LOW NOISE SCHOTTKY DIODE RECEIVER FRONT-END FOR MIDDLE ATMOSPHERIC OZONE AND CARBON MONOXIDE MEASUREMENTS

The paper describes an uncooled front-end of the Schottky diode receiver system, which may be applied for observations of middle atmospheric ozone and carbon monoxide thermal emission lines at frequencies 110.8 GHz and 115.3 GHz, respectively. The mixer of the front-end has utilized high-quality Schottky diodes that allowed us to reduce the mixer conversion loss. The combination of the mixer and an ultra-low-noise IF amplifier in the one integrated unit has resulted in double-sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature of 260 K at a local oscillator (LO) frequency of 113.05 GHz in the instantaneous IF band from 1.7 to 2.7 GHz. This is the lowest noise temperature ever reported for an uncooled ozone receiver system with Schottky diode mixers.     

Low noise SIS mixer for 230 GHz receivers of plateau de bure interferometer

We present a SIS mixer developed for 200 – 250 GHz band receivers of Plateau de Bure Interferometer. We demonstrate the minimum DSB receiver noise of 20 K at 220 GHz. The average receiver noise of 25 K is possible in 200 – 250 GHz range. The receiver conversion gain and output noise instability of 10^?4 on the time scale of 1 minute is comparable with the Shottky receivers performance. The minimum measured SIS mixer noise of about 10 K is close to the quantum limit. The waveguide SIS mixer with a single backshort has two junction array with inductively tuned junctions. The Nb/Al Oxide/Nb SIS junctions are 2.24 µm² each with the Josephson critical current density of 3.2 KA/cm². The thermal properties of the SIS mixer are studied. The mixer band of the low noise operation is in a good agreement with the design requirements.     

Simple 1 MM Receivers with a Fixed Tuned Double Sideband SIS Mixer and a Wideband INP MMIC Amplifier

We report on techniques to broaden the intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth of the Berkeley‐Illinois‐Maryland Array (BIMA) 1mm Superconductor‐Insulator‐Superconductor (SIS) heterodyne receivers by combining fixed tuned Double Side Band (DSB) SIS mixers and wideband Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) IF amplifiers. To obtain the flattest receiver gain across the IF band we tested three schemes for keeping the mixer and amplifier as electrically close as possible. In Receiver I, we connected separate mixer and MMIC modules by a 1 ″ stainless steel SMA elbow. In Receiver II, we integrated mixer and MMIC into a modified BIMA mixer module. In Receiver III, we devised a thermally split block in which mixer and MMIC can be maintained at different temperatures–in this receiver module the mixer at 4 K sees very little of the 10–20 mW heat load of the biased MMIC at 10 K. The best average receiver noise we achieved by combining SIS mixer and MMIC amplifier is 45 ‐50 K DSB for ν_LO = 215–240 GHz and below 80 K DSB for ν_LO = 205 ‐ 270 GHz. Over an IF frequency band of 1 – 4 GHz we have demonstrated receiver DSB noise temperatures of 40 – 60 K. Of the three receiver schemes, we feel Receiver III shows the most promise for continued development.     

A 320–360 GHz Subharmonically Pumped Image Rejection Mixer Using Planar Schottky Diodes

This letter presents the design, fabrication and test of an integrated 320–360 GHz subharmonic image rejection mixer using planar Schottky diodes. The integrated circuit uses two separate anti-parallel pairs of diodes mounted onto a single quartz-based circuit. Measurement results give best single sideband (SSB) receiver noise temperatures of approximately 3400 K at 340 GHz, with an image rejection from 7.2 to 24.1 dB over the 320–360 GHz frequency band. This work represents the first demonstration of a Schottky based SSB mixer at submillimeter wavelengths.      

Design and analysis of a waveguide sis mixer above the gap frequency of niobium

We present the design and experimental data of an SIS waveguide mixer for frequencies from 760 to 820 GHz. We use a Nb-Al₂O₃-Nb junction with an integrated niobium tuning structure. The waveguide mixer block contains no adjustable tuning elements. Design criteria for lossy tuning structures, differing from the impedance matching techniques used in the lossless case, are described. We separate the influence of the intrinsic mixing properties of an SIS junction from the effects of the power coupling to the signal source on the overall noise. This allows us to derive the contributions of the optics, the losses in the stripline and the noise generated in the junction to the total receiver noise from the measurements. We achieve double sideband receiver noise temperatures of around 850 K at frequencies from 780 to 820 Ghz and 4.2 K operating temperature of the mixer. Cooling the mixer to 2.5 K results in an improvement of the receiver noise temperature by 150 to 200 K. The bandwidth is presently limited by the local oscillator. The mixer was successfully used in a dual channel receiver (440 to 490 GHz and 780 to 820 GHz) at the Submillimeter Telescope Observatory (SMTO) on Mount Graham, Arizona.