Sensitivity of a hot electron bolometer heterodyne receiver at 4.3 THz

We have studied the sensitivity of a superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer mixer integrated with a spiral antenna at 4.3 THz. Using hot/cold blackbody loads and a beam splitter all in vacuum, we measured a double sideband receiver noise temperature of 1300 K at the optimum local oscillator (LO) power of 330 nW, which is about 12 times the...

The Herschel-Heterodyne instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI): Instrument and pre-launch testing.

This paper describes the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI), to be launched onboard of ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, by 2008. It includes the first results from the instrument level tests. The instrument is designed to be electronically tuneable over a wide and continuous frequency range in the Far Infrared, with velocity...

Noise temperature of a 4.3 THz HEB receiver

We have characterized a heterodyne receiver based on an NbN hot electron bolometer integrated with spiral antenna as mixer and an optically pumped FIR ring laser at 4.3 THz as local oscillator (LO). We succeeded in measuring the receiver output power, responding to the hot/cold load, as a function of bias voltage at optimum LO power. From the...