Constant output noise temperature of the superconducting quasiparticle mixer

Abstract

The output noise temperature, rather than the standard input noise temperature, is shown to be the fundamental measure of the shot noise of the superconducting (SIS) quasiparticle mixer. This conclusion is based on extensive numerical computations of the properties of optimized SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) receivers and also on analytic calculations with separate consideration of correlated and uncorrelated noise sources. The quantum theory of mixing is used to derive a simple analytic expression for the mixer output noise which is independent of frequency, and qualitatively explains the dependence of the output temperature on each of the receiver's operating parameters. The derivation leads to a novel understanding of the SIS mixer which, distinguishes between its correlated and uncorrelated noise sources. The authors predict T(receiver)=2*T(mixer) for many SIS receivers. Numerous experiments substantiate the analysis. >