A -- DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-NOISE NBN HOT ELECTRON BOLOMETER (HEB) THZ RECEIVER TECHNOLOGY FOR TEMPERATURES ABOVE .0K

Notice Date

July 19, 2001

Contracting Office

DOC; Mountain Administrative Support Center, Acquisition Management Division, MC3, 325 Broadway MC3, Boulder, CO 80305-3328

ZIP Code

80305-3328

Solicitation Number

52RANB10C032

Response Due

September 6, 2001

Point of Contact

Jan Clark, 303/497-6320, FAX 303/497-3163

E-Mail Address

NOAA; MASC Acquisition Management ( masc.solicitation@noaa.gov)

Description

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate with only one source, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, for specialized testing and development services on niobium nitride hot-electron-bolometers. The bolometers have unusual properties that make their testing exceptionally demanding that require the following specific technical capabilities: a) Cryogenic testing. The bolometers are to operate at temperatures between 2 and 12K (degrees above absolute zero), with 0.01 K stability and accuracy. Therefore, the test facilities must provide the capability to cool a sample, along with cold electronics, to temperatures in this range; b) Ultra-low microwave noise. The most important bolometer property to be tested is noise, under both DC-biased conditions and DC-biased plus THz driven conditions. In order to obtain meaningful results the intrinsic noise of the test facility must be low enough to avoid dominating the measurement. A noise temperature of 5 K or below, at Ghz is required. This requires the use of cryogenic, low-noise electronics, closely integrated with the sample and cooled to the 2-12 K range; c) THz-frequency drive capability. Although the primary test facility for these measurements is to be at NIST, the ability of the proposed contractor to verify the measurements at another facility is very important. This requires the contractor have a THz frequency source available. The frequency range required is approximately 1-5 THz, with at least 10 specific frequencies in this range needed, at power levels above 1 mW, with power stability better than 1 percent over an hour. The University of Massachusetts=92s groups facilities have all the necessary cryogenic capabilities, the necessary low-noise microwave capabilities and have a gas laser system that will be available for testing services required. The University is the only institution that possesses all three of the requirements and that has adapted the test capabilities to the particular requirements of NbN mixer testing. This notice may represent the only official notice of a solicitation. See Note 22.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010723/ASOL005.HTM (D-200 SN50S478)