SUBMILLIMETER-WAVE DETECTION WITH HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING BOLOMETERS

We have fabricated and characterized a planar antenna-coupled microbol ometer working at the resistive transition edge of a HT, superconducti ng film for use as a submillimeter wave detector. A log-periodic anten na was used to couple the incoming radiation to a YBaCuO thin film mic robridge. The performance of the antenna and the bolometer response we re obtained by using a 119 mu m H2O laser source. Both the radiation p attern directivity and the detector responsivity were clearly improved by irradiating the antenna from the dielectric substrate side by mean s of a hyper-hemispherical silicon lens.