Extensive test of the three‐port quantum mixer theory on 345 GHz superconductor‐insulator‐superconductor mixers

Predictions of the three-port model of the quantum theory of mixing are compared with measured results on 345 GHz superconductor-insulator-superconductor waveguide mixers. Single Nb-Al2O3-Nb tunnel junctions or two or four identical junctions in series are used as mixing elements. Two different waveguide mixerblocks, one with two tuners and another with one tuner, are used. In addition a single junction with integrated tuning stub is analyzed. Embedding impedances are obtained from fits to the pumped I-V curves for all three types of mixing elements. In all cases the dependence of mixer conversion and mixer noise on bias voltage, pump power, and embedding impedance is well described by the three-port model. The measured mixer gain is lower than the calculated gain by a factor of 0.35-0.65, independent of the type of mixer. The use of an additional integrated tuning element does not change this factor. It is concluded that an excess noise power equivalent with a blackbody source of 40-65 K must be added to the mixer noise to account for the absolute value of the observed noise power