High-speed YBCO detectors for resolving picosecond THz pulses

Superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB) detectors are used as fast and sensitive THz detectors. Depending on the superconductor used for the detector development the bolometer can be adjusted in terms of sensitivity and speed. The hightemperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7- (YBCO) is a very promising candidate for the fabrication of ultra-fast etectors. Due to strong coupling between electrons and phonons in this material resulting in a very fast electron-phonon interaction time (~ 1-2 ps) [1] YBCO detectors are supposed to be able to resolve picosecond THz pulses. This is of high concern for the analysis of synchrotron THz pulses with pulse lengths in the picosecond regime [2]. We will show the fabrication and characterisation of YBCO THz detectors deposited on sapphire substrate. First measurements of synchrotron THz pulses will be presented and discussed