A low-noise micromachined millimeter-wave heterodyne mixer using Nb superconducting tunnel junctions | Zendy

G. de Lange | Zendy; Brian R. Jacobson | Zendy; Qing Hu | Zendy

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A low-noise micromachined millimeter-wave heterodyne mixer using Nb superconducting tunnel junctions

Author(s) -

G. de Lange,

Brian R. Jacobson,

Qing Hu

Publication year - 1996

Publication title -

applied physics letters

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.182

H-Index - 442

eISSN - 1077-3118

pISSN - 0003-6951

DOI - 10.1063/1.116038

Subject(s) - surface micromachining , materials science , optoelectronics , heterodyne (poetry) , noise temperature , optics , physics , fabrication , acoustics , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , phase noise

A heterodyne mixer with a micromachined horn antenna and a superconductor‐insulator‐ superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction as mixing element is tested in the W‐band (75–115 GHz) frequency range. Micromachined integrated horn antennas consist of a dipole antenna suspended on a thin Si3N4 dielectric membrane inside a pyramidal cavity etched in silicon. The mixer performance is optimized by using a backing plane behind the dipole antenna to tune out the capacitance of the tunnel junction. The lowest receiver noise temperature of 30±3 K (without any correction) is measured at 106 GHz with a 3‐dB bandwidth of 8 GHz. This sensitivity is comparable to the state‐of‐the‐art waveguide and quasi‐optical SIS receivers, showing the potential use of micromachined horn antennas in imaging arrays.

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