Terahertz high-sensitivity SIS mixer based on Nb-AlN-NbN hybrid superconducting tunnel junctions

doi:10.1088/1674-1056/ad2bf7

Abstract The terahertz band, a unique segment of the electromagnetic spectrum, is crucial for observing the cold, dark universe and plays a pivotal role in cutting-edge scientific research, including the study of cosmic environments that support life and imaging black holes. High-sensitivity superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers are essential detectors for terahertz astronomical telescopes and interferometric arrays. Compared to the commonly used classical Nb/AlO_x/Nb superconducting tunnel junction, the Nb/AlN/NbN hybrid superconducting tunnel junction has a higher energy gap voltage and can achieve a higher critical current density. This makes it particularly promising for the development of ultra-wideband, high-sensitivity coherent detectors or mixers in various scientific research fields. In this paper, we present a superconducting SIS mixer based on Nb/AlN/NbN parallel-connected twin junctions (PCTJ), which has a bandwidth extending up to 490 GHz-720 GHz. The best achieved double-sideband (DSB) noise temperature (sensitivity) is below three times the quantum noise level.

Keywords: SIS mixer terahertz gap voltage critical current density hybrid superconducting tunnel junction

Received: 18 January 2024
Revised: 07 February 2024
Accepted manuscript online: 22 February 2024

PACS:	85.25.Pb	(Superconducting infrared, submillimeter and millimeter wave detectors)
	85.25.Am	(Superconducting device characterization, design, and modeling)
	95.55.Jz	(Radio telescopes and instrumentation; heterodyne receivers)

Fund: Project supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2023YFA1608201 and 2023YFF0722301) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11925304, 12020101002, 12333013, 12273119, and 12103093). The samples fabrication was supported by grant from the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 23-79-00019).

Corresponding Authors: Dong Liu, Sheng-Cai Shi
E-mail: dliu@pmo.ac.cn;scshi@pmo.ac.cn

Cite this article:

Bo-Liang Liu(刘博梁), Dong Liu(刘冬), Ming Yao(姚明), Jun-Da Jin(金骏达), Zheng Wang(王争), Jing Li(李婧), Sheng-Cai Shi(史生才), Artem Chekushkin, Michael Fominsky, Lyudmila Filippenko, and Valery Koshelets Terahertz high-sensitivity SIS mixer based on Nb-AlN-NbN hybrid superconducting tunnel junctions 2024 Chin. Phys. B 33 058501

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Terahertz high-sensitivity SIS mixer based on Nb-AlN-NbN hybrid superconducting tunnel junctions

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