NbN hot electron bolometric mixers - A new technology for low-noise THz receivers

New advances in hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers have recently resulted in record-low receiver noise temperatures at terahertz frequencies, We have developed quasi optically coupled NbN HEB mixers and measured noise temper atures up to 2.24 THz, as described in this paper. We project the anticipat ed future performance of such receivers to have even lower noise temperatur e and local-oscillator power requirement as well as wider gain and noise ba ndwidths, We introduce a proposal for integrated focal plane arrays of HEB mixers that will further increase the detection speed of terahertz systems.