We have demonstrated three 4×2 hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer arrays for operation at local oscillator (LO) frequencies of 1.4, 1.9 and 4.7 THz, respectively. These arrays consist of spiral antenna coupled NbN HEB mixers combined with elliptical lenses. These are to date the highest pixel count arrays using a quasi-optical coupling scheme at supra-THz frequencies. At 1.4 THz, we obtained an average double sideband mixer noise temperature of 330 K, a mixer conversion loss of 5.2 dB, and an optimum LO power of 210 nW. The array at 1.9 THz has an average mixer noise temperature of 425K, a mixer conversion loss of 6.4 dB, and an optimum LO power of 190 nW. For the array at 4.7 THz we obtained an average mixer noise temperature of 715 K, a mixer conversion loss of 8.9 dB, and an optimum LO power of 240 nW. We found the arrays to be uniform regarding the mixer noise temperature with a standard deviation of 3-4%, the conversion loss with a standard deviation of 8-11%, and optimum LO power with a standard deviation of 5-6%. The noise bandwidth was also measured, being 3.5 GHz for the three arrays. These performances are comparable to previously reported values in the literature for single pixels and also other detector arrays at similar frequencies. Our arrays met the requirements and were employed in the Galactic/Extra-Galactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO), a NASA balloon borne observatory. GUSTO launched from Antarctica on the 31st December 2023 having a successful flight of 57 days, the longest ever recorded by NASA for such mission profile.@en

We report a high accuracy pointing technique for quasi-optical hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers in focal-plane arrays designed to operate at 1.4, 1.9, and 4.7 THz. The high accuracy pointing is achieved by prealignment of a HEB chip to a lens, measuring the angular error of each mixer in an array assembly, and then realignment of the chip to the same lens to correct the error. The realigned mixers, using 5 mm diameter Si elliptical lenses designed for operation at 4.7 THz, show a final pointing error distribution with an average (μ) = 0.13° and standard deviation (σ) = 0.06°, with respect to the normal direction of the respective array plane. Those using 10 mm diameter lenses designed for operation either at 1.4 or 1.9 THz, show μ = 0.08° and σ = 0.03°. We demonstrated our pointing technique in five 4×2 HEB focal plane arrays developed for NASA's balloon borne GUSTO THz observatory. Our results corroborate the simulated beam steering factors used to calculate the realignment corrections. With the unprecedented pointing accuracy at the high frequencies, our technique can significantly facilitate the use of lens-antenna, quasi-optical mixers for future focal-plane arrays, which is able to compete with traditional feedhorn-waveguide mixer arrays, operated typically below 1 THz, for astronomical instrumentation.

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GUSTO will be a NASA balloon borne terahertz observatory to be launched from Antarctica in late 2021 for a flight duration of 100-170 days. It aims at reviewing the life cycle of interstellar medium of our galaxy by simultaneously mapping the three brightest interstellar cooling lines: [OI] at 4.7 THz, [CII] at 1.9 THz, and [NII] at 1.4 THz; along the 124 degrees of the galactic plane and through a part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It will use three arrays of 4x2 mixers based on NbN hot electron bolometers (HEBs), which are currently the most sensitive mixers for high resolution spectroscopic astronomy at these frequencies. Here we report on the design of a novel 4.7 THz receiver for GUSTO. The receiver consists mainly of two subsystems: a 4×2 HEB quasi-optical mixer array and a 4.7 THz multi-beam LO. We describe the mixer array, which is designed as a compact monolithic unit. We show, for example, 10 potential HEB detectors with the state of the art sensitivity of 720 K measured at 2.5 THz. They have a small variation in sensitivity, being less than 3%, while also meet the LO uniformity requirements. For the multi-beam LO we demonstrate the combination of a phase grating and a single QCL at 4.7 THz, which generates 8 sub-LO beams, where the phase grating shows an efficiency of 75%. A preliminary concept for the integrated LO unit, including QCL, phase grating and beam matching optics is presented.

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