The super-Schottky diode
Abstract
The super-Schottky-barrier diode, a superconductor-semiconductor tunneling junction, has been established as the most sensitive detector of microwaves. These record sensitivities were obtained in both the video and mixing modes of operation. Measurements at X-band have yielded a video NEP of 0.5 femlowatt per sq. root Hz and a mixer input noise temperature of 6 K. The super-Schottky mixer provides a front-end component for ultralow-noise receivers that is superior in bandwidth to available parametric and maser amplifiers and yet has a comparable noise temperature. This article reports the design, fabrication, and measurement of Pb on p-GaAs super-Schottky diodes which perform as nearly ideal low-noise mixers at 9 GHz.
- Publication:
-
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory Techniques
- Pub Date:
- April 1977
- DOI:
- 10.1109/TMTT.1977.1129092
- Bibcode:
- 1977ITMTT..25..286V
- Keywords:
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- Microwave Equipment;
- Millimeter Waves;
- Radio Receivers;
- Schottky Diodes;
- Signal Detectors;
- Tunnel Diodes;
- Communication Satellites;
- Gallium Arsenides;
- Low Noise;
- Noise Temperature;
- Radio Astronomy;
- Superconductors;
- Superhigh Frequencies;
- Volt-Ampere Characteristics;
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering