Waveguide receiver design prototypes for the 211–275 GHz and 790–950 GHz frequency ranges

Superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers are the most sensitive heterodyne receivers for mm and submm wavelengths. SIS mixers are installed on all state of the art submm observatories such as the Atacama Large Millimeter array (ALMA) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX). Recently, an improved type of Nb/AlN/NbN SIS junction has become available that combines higher gap voltage with high current density. This opens new parametric space for further improvement of the SIS mixer's performance and bandwidth both for frequencies higher and lower than the gap frequency of Nb (700 GHz). In this contribution we will describe designs of SIS mixers based on a new type of SIS junction, both for high (∼900 GHz) and low (∼200 GHz) frequencies.