Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000stin...0101500k&link_type=abstract
Technical Report, Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Electron Trajectories, Detection, Radio Astronomy, Sensitivity, Hot Electrons, Bolometers, Waveguides, Time Constant, Thermal Diffusion, Superconductors (Materials), Photons, Phonons, Millimeter Waves, High Temperature, Figure Of Merit, Aerospace Engineering
Scientific paper
A new approach is proposed to improve the sensitivity of direct-detection bolometers. The idea is to adjust a speed of the thermal relaxation of hot-electrons in a nanometer size normal metal or superconductive transition edge bolometer by controlling the elastic electron mean free path. If the bolometer contacts are made of a superconductor with high critical temperature then the thermal diffusion into the contacts is absent because of the Andreev's reflection and the electron-phonon relaxation is the only mechanism for heat removal. The relaxation rate should behave as 74l at subkelvin temperatures (l is the electron elastic mean free path) and can be reduced by factor of 10 - 100 by decreasing l. Then an antenna- or waveguide-coupled bolometer with a time constant approx. 10-3 to 10-5 S at T approx. = 0.1 - 0.3 K will exhibit photon-noise limited performance in millimeter and subn-millimeter range. The bolometer will have a figure-of-merit NEk square root of tau approx. = 10-22 10-21 W/Hz at 100 mK which is 103 times smaller than that of a state-of-the-art bolometer. This will allow for a tremendous increase in speed which will have a significant impact for observational mapping applications. Alternatively, the bolometer could operate at higher temperature with still superior sensitivity This research was performed by the Center for Space Microelectronics Technology, JPL, California Institute of Technology, under the contract for NASA.
Karasik Boris S.
Leduc Henry G.
McGrath William R.
No associations
LandOfFree
A Hot-electron Direct Detector for Radioastronomy does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with A Hot-electron Direct Detector for Radioastronomy, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Hot-electron Direct Detector for Radioastronomy will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-811828