Bruce Bumble

Titanium nitride films for ultrasensitive microresonator detectors

Titanium nitride (TiNx) films are ideal for use in superconducting microresonator detectors for the following reasons: (a) the critical temperature varies with composition (0 107) and have noise properties similar to resonators made using other materials, while the quasiparticle lifetimes are reasonably long, 10–200 μs. TiN microresonators should therefore reach sensitivities well below 10−19 W Hz−1/2.

Herschel observations of EXtra-Ordinary Sources (HEXOS):The present and future of spectral surveys with Herschel/HIFI

We present initial results from the Herschel GT key program: Herschel observations of EXtra-Ordinary Sources (HEXOS) and outline the promise and potential of spectral surveys with Herschel/HIFI. The HIFI instrument offers unprecedented sensitivity, as well as continuous spectral coverage across the gaps imposed by the atmosphere, opening up a largely unexplored wavelength regime to high-resolution spectroscopy. We show the spectrum of Orion KL between 480 and 560 GHz and from 1.06 to 1.115 THz. From these data, we confirm that HIFI separately measures the dust continuum and spectrally resolves emission lines in Orion KL. Based on this capability we demonstrate that the line contribution to the broad-band continuum in this molecule-rich source is ~20-40% below 1 THz and declines to a few percent at higher frequencies. We also tentatively identify multiple transitions of HD18O in the spectra. The first detection of this rare isotopologue in the interstellar medium suggests that HDO emission is optically thick in the Orion hot core with HDO/H2O ~ 0.02. We discuss the implications of this detection for the water D/H ratio in hot cores. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.Figure 2 (page 6) is also available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Low-noise submillimeter-wave NbTiN superconducting tunnel junction mixers

We have developed a low-noise 850 GHz superconductor–insulator–superconductor quasiparticle mixer with NbTiN thin-film microstrip tuning circuits and hybrid Nb/AlN/NbTiN tunnel junctions. The mixer uses a quasioptical configuration with a planar twin-slot antenna feeding a two-junction tuning circuit. At 798 GHz, we measured an uncorrected double-sideband receiver noise temperature of TRX = 260 K at 4.2 K bath temperature. This mixer outperforms current Nb SIS mixers by a factor of nearly 2 near 800 GHz. The high-gap frequency and low loss at 800 GHz make NbTiN an attractive material with which to fabricate tuning circuits for SIS mixers. NbTiN mixers can potentially operate up to the gap frequency, 2Delta/h~1.2 THz.

Length scaling of bandwidth and noise in hot‐electron superconducting mixers

Mixing experiments have been performed at frequencies from 4 to 20 GHz on Nb thin‐film superconducting hot‐electron bolometers varying in length from 0.08 to 3 μm. The intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth is found to vary as L−2, with L the bridge length, for devices shorter than √12 Le−ph≊1 μm, with Le−ph the electron‐phonon length. The shortest device has an IF bandwidth greater than 6 GHz, the largest reported for a low‐Tc superconducting bolometric mixer. The conversion efficiencies range from −5 to −11 dB (single sideband, SSB). For short bridges, the mixer noise temperature is found to be as low as 100 K (double sideband, DSB), with little length dependence. The local oscillator power required is small, ≊10 nW. Such mixers are very promising for low‐noise THz heterodyne receivers.

A wideband fixed-tuned SIS receiver for 200-GHz operation

We report on the design and development of a heterodyne receiver, designed to cover the frequency range 176-256 GHz. This receiver incorporates a niobium superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction mixer, which, chiefly for reasons of reliability and ease of operation, is a fixed-tuned waveguide design. On-chip tuning is provided to resonate out the junctions geometric capacitance and produce a good match to the waveguide circuit. Laboratory measurements on the first test receiver indicate that the required input bandwidth (about 40%) is achieved with an average receiver noise temperature of below 50 K. Mixer conversion gain is observed at some frequencies, and the lowest measured receiver noise is less than 30 K. Furthermore, the SIS mixer used in this receiver is of simple construction, is easy to assemble and is therefore a good candidate for duplication. >

Low noise in a diffusion-cooled hot-electron mixer at 2.5 THz

The noise performance of a Nb hot-electron bolometer mixer at 2.5 THz has been investigated. The devices are fabricated from a 12-nm-thick Nb film, and have a 0.30 μm×0.15 μm in-plane size, thus exploiting diffusion as the electron cooling mechanism. The rf coupling was provided by a twin-slot planar antenna on an elliptical Si lens. The experimentally measured double sideband noise temperature of the receiver was as low as 2750±250 K with an estimated mixer noise temperature of ≈900 K. The mixer bandwidth derived from both noise bandwidth and IF impedance measurements was ≈1.4 GHz. These results demonstrate the low-noise operation of the diffusion-cooled bolometer mixer above 2 THz.

Large bandwidth and low noise in a diffusion‐cooled hot‐electron bolometer mixer

Heterodyne measurements have been made at 533 GHz using a novel superconducting hot‐electron bolometer in a waveguide mixer. The bolometer is a 0.3 μm long niobium microbridge with a superconducting transition temperature of 5 K. The short length ensures that electron diffusion dominates over electron‐phonon interactions as the electron cooling mechanism, which should allow heterodyne detection with intermediate frequencies (if) of several GHz. A Y‐factor response of 1.15 dB has been obtained at an if of 1.4 GHz with 77 and 295 K loads, indicating a receiver noise temperature of 650 K DSB. The −3 dB rolloff in the if response occurs at 1.7 GHz.

A superconducting focal plane array for ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared astrophysics

Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, or MKIDs, have proven to be a powerful cryogenic detector technology due to their sensitivity and the ease with which they can be multiplexed into large arrays. A MKID is an energy sensor based on a photon-variable superconducting inductance in a lithographed microresonator, and is capable of functioning as a photon detector across the electromagnetic spectrum as well as a particle detector. Here we describe the first successful effort to create a photon-counting, energy-resolving ultraviolet, optical, and near infrared MKID focal plane array. These new Optical Lumped Element (OLE) MKID arrays have significant advantages over semiconductor detectors like charge coupled devices (CCDs). They can count individual photons with essentially no false counts and determine the energy and arrival time of every photon with good quantum efficiency. Their physical pixel size and maximum count rate is well matched with large telescopes. These capabilities enable powerful new astrophysical instruments usable from the ground and space. MKIDs could eventually supplant semiconductor detectors for most astronomical instrumentation, and will be useful for other disciplines such as quantum optics and biological imaging.

Position sensitive x-ray spectrophotometer using microwave kinetic inductance detectors

The surface impedance of a superconductor changes when energy is absorbed and Cooper pairs are broken to produce single electron (quasiparticle) excitations. This change may be sensitively measured using a thin-film resonant circuit called a microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID). The practical application of MKIDs for photon detection requires a method of efficiently coupling the photon energy to the MKID. The authors present results on position sensitive x-ray detectors made by using two aluminum MKIDs on either side of a tantalum photon absorber strip. Diffusion constants, recombination times, and energy resolution are reported. MKIDs can easily be scaled into large arrays.

Very high-current-density Nb'AlN'Nb tunnel junctions for low-noise submillimeter mixers

We have fabricated and tested submillimeter-wave superconductor–insulator–superconductor (SIS) mixers using very high-current-density Nb/AlN/Nb tunnel junctions (Jc[approximate]30 kA cm–2). The junctions have low-resistance-area products (RNA[approximate]5.6 Omega µm2), good subgap-to-normal resistance ratios Rsg/RN[approximate]10, and good run-to-run reproducibility. From Fourier transform spectrometer measurements, we infer that omegaRNC = 1 at 270 GHz. This is a factor of 2.5 improvement over what is generally available with Nb/AlOx/Nb junctions suitable for low-noise mixers. The AlN-barrier junctions are indeed capable of low-noise operation: we measure an uncorrected double-sideband receiver noise temperature of TRX = 110 K at 533 GHz for an unoptimized device. In addition to providing wider bandwidth operation at lower frequencies, the AlN-barrier junctions will considerably improve the performance of THz SIS mixers by reducing rf loss in the tuning circuits.