Temperature Dependence of High Frequency and Noise Performance of Sb-Heterostructure Millimeter-Wave Detectors

The temperature dependence of the microwave and noise performance of zero-bias Sb-heterostructure backward diodes for millimeter-wave detection have been investigated experimentally. Both the junction capacitance and junction resistance were found to decrease with decreasing temperature, while the intrinsic cutoff frequency and sensitivity are observed to increase as the temperature is lowered. A simple physical model that captures these effects is described. The directly measured voltage sensitivity at 50 GHz for a 2times2 mum ² device increased from 3650 V/W at room temperature to 7190 V/W at 4.2 K. The measured noise equivalent power (NEP) decreased from 4.2 to 0.2 pW/Hz^1/2 as the temperature was lowered from 298 K to 4.2 K when driven from a 50- Omega source. Based on the measured RF sensitivity, S-parameters, and noise spectrum, a NEP of 0.3 pW/Hz^1/2 is projected for room-temperature operation at zero bias using a conjugately matched RF source