New results on terahertz HEB low-noise receivers and focal plane arrays

HEB technology continues to extend the sate-of-the-art for THz low-noise receivers. This talk discusses recent measured noise temperatures for NbN HEB receivers form which we infer intrinsic noise temperatures which approach the quantum noise limit within a factor of 3-5. We discuss the feasibility of achieving noise temperatures even close to the quantum limit noting that this limit has been reached both at lower frequencies and at higher frequencies. Another approach for considerably enhancing the speed with which THz receivers collect data is to employ a focal plane array system. We will discuss our design approach and general constraints for such a system.