Low-noise submillimeter-wave NbTiN superconducting tunnel junction mixers

Abstract

We have developed a low-noise 850 GHz superconductor–insulator–superconductor quasiparticle mixer with NbTiN thin-film microstrip tuning circuits and hybrid Nb/AlN/NbTiN tunnel junctions. The mixer uses a quasioptical configuration with a planar twin-slot antenna feeding a two-junction tuning circuit. At 798 GHz, we measured an uncorrected double-sideband receiver noise temperature of $T_{\mathrm{RX}}\text{=260\hspace{0.05em}}\mathrm{K}$ at 4.2 K bath temperature. This mixer outperforms current Nb SIS mixers by a factor of nearly 2 near 800 GHz. The high-gap frequency and low loss at 800 GHz make NbTiN an attractive material with which to fabricate tuning circuits for SIS mixers. NbTiN mixers can potentially operate up to the gap frequency, $\text{2Δ/h∼1.2\hspace{0.05em}}\mathrm{THz}.$