The influence of the diffusion cooling on the noise band of the superconductor NbN hot-electron bolometer operating in the terahertz range

Abstract

Results of an experimental study of the noise temperature (T_n) and noise bandwidth (NBW) of the superconductor NbN hot-electron bolometer (HEB) mixer as a function of its temperature (T_b) are presented. It was determined that the NBW of the mixer is significantly wider at temperatures close to the critical ones (T_c) than are values measured at 4.2 K. The NBW of the mixer measured at the heterodyne frequency of 2.5 THz at temperature T_b close to T_c was ~13 GHz, as compared with 6 GHz at Tb = 4.2 K. This experiment clearly demonstrates the limitation of the thermal flow from the NbN bridge at T_b ≪ T_c for mixers manufactured by the in situ technique. This limitation is close in its nature to the Andreev reflection on the superconductor/ metal boundary. In this case, the noise temperature of the studied mixer increased from 1100 to 3800 K.