Development of the physical principles of the design and implementation of a 500–700 GHz spectrometer with a superconducting integrated receiver

Abstract

A spectrometer based on the effect of freely decaying polarization in the frequency range 500–700 GHz has been designed. Radiation sources are harmonics from a quantum semiconductor superlattice frequency multiplier. The receiving system of this spectrometer is constructed using a superconducting integrated receiver based on a superconductor-insulator-superconductor mixer and a flux-flow oscillator operating as a heterodyne oscillator. The spectrometer has been used to measure absorption lines of NH3 in a sample of expired air (572 GHz).