# Experimental Study of a Planar-integrated Dual-Polarization Balanced SIS Mixer

## TL;DR

This paper presents an experimental study of a monolithic planar dual-polarization SIS mixer operating at 2 mm wavelength, demonstrating promising performance metrics for potential use in heterodyne focal plane arrays.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel integrated circuit design with silicon membranes for dual-polarization mixing at millimeter wavelengths, showing effective LO noise rejection and low receiver noise.

## Key findings

- LO noise rejection ratio about 15 dB
- Overall receiver noise about 40 K
- Cross-polarization <-20 dB

## Abstract

A dual-polarization balanced superconductor-insulator-superconductor mixer operating at 2 mm wavelength is realized in form of a monolithic planar integrated circuit. Planar orthomode transducers and LO couplers are enabled by using silicon membranes that are locally formed on the silicon-on-insulator substrate. The performance of the balanced mixer is experimentally investigated. Over the entire RF band (125-163 GHz), the balanced mixer shows an LO noise rejection ratio about 15 dB, an overall receiver noise about 40 K, and a cross-polarization <-20 dB. The demonstrated compactness and the performance of the integrated circuit indicate that this approach is feasible in developing heterodyne focal plane arrays.