Serguei Cherednichenko

Picosecond hot-electron energy relaxation in NbN superconducting photodetectors

We report time-resolved characterization of superconducting NbN hot-electron photodetectors using an electro-optic sampling method. Our samples were patterned into micron-size microbridges from 3.5-nm-thick NbN films deposited on sapphire substrates. The devices were illuminated with 100 fs optical pulses, and the photoresponse was measured in the ambient temperature range between 2.15 and 10.6 K (superconducting temperature transition TC). The experimental data agreed very well with the nonequilibrium hot-electron, two-temperature model. The quasiparticle thermalization time was ambient temperature independent and was measured to be 6.5 ps. The inelastic electron–phonon scattering time τe–ph tended to decrease with the temperature increase, although its change remained within the experimental error, while the phonon escape time τes decreased almost by a factor of two when the sample was put in direct contact with superfluid helium. Specifically, τe–ph and τes, fitted by the two-temperature model, were equal to 11.6 and 21 ps at 2.15 K, and 10(±2) and 38 ps at 10.5 K, respectively. The obtained value of τe–ph shows that the maximum intermediate frequency bandwidth of NbN hot-electron phonon-cooled mixers operating at TC can reach 16(+4/−3) GHz if one eliminates the bolometric phonon-heating effect.

A Subharmonic Graphene FET Mixer

We demonstrate a subharmonic resistive graphene FET mixer utilizing the symmetrical channel-resistance versus gate-voltage characteristic. A down-conversion loss of 24 dB is obtained with fRF = 2 GHz, fLO= 1.01 GHz, and fIF= 20 MHz in a 50- Ω-impedance system. Unlike conventional subharmonic resistive FET mixers, this type of mixer operates with only one transistor and does not need any balun at the local oscillator (LO) port, which makes it more compact.

Low noise NbN lattice-cooled superconducting hot-electron bolometric mixers at submillimeter wavelengths

Lattice-cooled superconducting hot-electron bolometric mixers are used in a submillimeter-wave waveguide heterodyne receiver. The mixer elements are niobium nitride film with 3.5 nm thickness and ∼10u2002μm2 area. The local oscillator power for optimal performance is estimated to be 0.5 μW, and the instantaneous bandwidth is 2.2 GHz. At an intermediate frequency centered at 1.4 GHz with 200 MHz bandwidth, the double sideband receiver noise temperature is 410 K at 430 GHz. The receiver has been used to detect molecular line emission in a laboratory gas cell.

Terahertz mixing in MgB2 microbolometers

Authors report on a terahertz (600 GHz) mixing experiment with MgB2 microbolometers in the resistive state. We observed that for a 20 nm film a mixer gain bandwidth of 2.3 GHz can be achieved, corresponding to an energy relaxation time of 70 ps. The experimental results were analyzed using a two-temperature model. As a result, the phonon escape time uf07e 20 ps was deduced. At 1.6THz the MgB2 mixer uncorrected noise temperature was 11000K. The obtained results show that MgB2 bolometers are good prospects for the terahertz range as both broadband mixers and fast direct detectors.

Low noise MgB2 terahertz hot-electron bolometer mixers

We report on low noise terahertz bolometric mixers made of MgB2 superconducting thin films. For a 10-nm-thick MgB2 film, the lowest mixer noise temperature was 600u2009K at 600u2009GHz. For 30 to 10-nm-thick films, the mixer gain bandwidth is an inverse function of the film thickness, reaching 3.4u2009GHz for the 10-nm film. As the critical temperature of the film decreases, the gain bandwidth also decreases, indicating the importance of high quality thin films for large gain bandwidth mixers. The results indicate the prospect of achieving a mixer gain bandwidth as large as 10-8u2009GHz for 3 to 5-nm-thick MgB2 films.

Large Bandwidth of NbN Phonon-Cooled Hot-Electron Bolometer Mixers

The bandwidth of NbN phonon-cooled hot electron bolometer mixers has been systematically investigated with respect to the film thickness and film quality variation. The films, 2.5 to 10 nm thick, were fabricated on sapphire substrates using DC reactive magnetron sputtering. All devices consisted of several parallel strips, each 1 ¿ wide and 2 ¿ long, placed between Ti-Au contact pads. To measure the gain bandwidth we used two identical BWOs operating in the 120-140 GHz frequency range, one functioning as a local oscillator and the other as a signal source. The majority of the measurements were made at an ambient temperature of 4.2 K with optimal LO and DC bias. The maximum 3 dB bandwidth (about 4 GHz) was achieved for the devices made of films which were 2.5-3.5 nm thick, had a high critical temperature, and high critical current density. A theoretical analysis of bandwidth for these mixers based on the two-temperature model gives a good description of the experimental results if one assumes that the electron temperature is equal to the critical temperature.

Gain bandwidth of NbN hot-electron bolometer terahertz mixers on 1.5 um Si3N4 /SiO2 membranes

The gain bandwidth of NbN hot-electron bolometer terahertz mixers on electrically thin Si3N4 /SiO2 membranes was experimentally investigated and compared with that of HEB mixers on bulk substrates. A gain bandwidth of 3.5 GHz is achieved on bulk silicon, whereas the gain bandwidth is reduced down to 0.6–0.9 GHz for mixers on 1.5 um Si3 N4 /SiO2 membranes. We show that application of a MgO buffer layer on the membrane extends the gain bandwidth to 3 GHz. The experimental data were analyzed using the film-substrate acoustic mismatch approach.

Study of IF Bandwidth of

A noise bandwidth (NBW) of 6-7 GHz was obtained for hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixers made of 10 nm MgB₂ films. A systematic investigation of the (IF) gain bandwidth as a function of the MgB₂ film thickness (30, 15, and 10 nm) is also presented. The gain bandwidth (GBW) of 3.4 GHz was measured for a 10 nm film, corresponding to a mixer time constant of 47 ps. For 10 nm films a reduction of the GBW was observed with the reduction of the critical temperature (<i>Tc</i>). Experimental data were analyzed using the two-temperature model. From the theoretical analysis, the electron-phonon time (τ_{e - ph}), the phonon escape time (τ_esc) and the electron and phonon specific heats (c_e, c_ph) were extrapolated giving the first model for HEB mixers of MgB₂ films.

{\hbox{MgB}}_{2}

We report on the influence of a silicon nitride gate dielectric in graphene-based field-effect transistors (FETs). The silicon nitride is formed by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. The process is based on a low-density plasma at a high pressure (1 torr), which results in a low degradation of the graphene lattice during the top-gate formation process. Microwave measurements of the graphene FET show a cutoff frequency of 8.8 GHz for a gate length of 1.3 μm. A carrier mobility of 3800 cm2/V·s at room temperature was extracted from the dc characteristic.

Phonon-Cooled Hot-Electron Bolometer Mixers

A high sensitivity broadband terahertz direct detector based on YBa₂Cu₃O₇ high-Tc superconductor microbolometers is presented. At 77 K, the responsivity of the spiral antenna-integrated microbolometers (1.5 μm ×1.5 μm) is 190 V/W, referenced to the input of the silicon substrate lens, across the frequency range of 330 GHz-1.63 THz in a single device. The response time is approximately 300 ps. Using a room temperature readout, we measure an optical noise equivalent power (NEP) of 20 pW/Hz^0.5 (readout noise limited) for modulation frequencies ranging from 500 Hz to 100 kHz.