Title :
Micromachined millimeter-wave SIS-mixers
Author :
de Lange, G. ; Jacobson, B.R. ; Qing Hu
Author_Institution :
Res. Lab. of Electron., MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
fDate :
6/1/1995 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Micromachined SIS-mixers for 90-115 GHz and for 180-230 GHz have been fabricated and tested. A micromachined SIS-mixer consists of an antenna-coupled superconducting tunnel junction fabricated on a thin SiN membrane which is placed inside a pyramidal horn structure. The horn is formed by anisotropic KOH-etching of [100] Si along the (111) crystal planes. The high accuracy of the etching and the ease of whole-wafer fabrication make this type of SIS mixers attractive for applications both at high frequencies and in imaging arrays. Experimental results show that high-quality tunnel junctions can be reliably fabricated on thin SiN membranes. Experiments also show that the junctions are adequately cooled on the membrane and that sufficient LO-power can be coupled.<>
Keywords :
aperture antennas; electron device manufacture; etching; horn antennas; micromachining; millimetre wave mixers; superconducting device testing; superconductor-insulator-superconductor mixers; (111) crystal planes; 180 to 230 GHz; 4.2 K; 90 to 115 GHz; KOH; LO-power coupling; Nb-AlO-Nb; SIS-mixer fabrication; SIS-mixer testing; Si; Si (100); SiN; anisotropic KOH-etching; antenna-coupled superconducting tunnel junction; etching accuracy; horn apertures; imaging arrays; micromachined SIS-mixers; millimeter-wave SIS-mixers; pyramidal horn structure; thin SiN membrane; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Biomembranes; Etching; Fabrication; Frequency; Horn antennas; Josephson junctions; Silicon compounds; Superconducting devices; Testing;
Journal_Title :
Applied Superconductivity, IEEE Transactions on
