We report the measured sensitivities of a superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer ͑HEB͒ heterodyne receiver at 5.25 THz. Terahertz ͑THz͒ radiation is quasioptically coupled to a HEB mixer with a lens and a spiral antenna. Using a measurement setup with black body calibration sources and a beam splitter in vacuo, and an antireflection coated Si lens, we obtained a double sideband ͑DSB͒ receiver noise temperature ͑T rec DSB ͒ of 1150 K, which is nine times h / 2k, where h is the Planck constant, the frequency, and k the Boltzmann constant. In addition, the measured far field beam patterns of the integrated lens antenna show nearly collimated beams from 2.5 to 5.3 THz that allow reliable measurement of T rec DSB using the vacuum setup. Our experimental results in combination with an antenna-to-bolometer coupling simulation suggest that the HEB mixer can work well at least up to 6 THz, making it suitable for next generation of high-resolution spectroscopic space telescopes and, in particular, for the detection of the neutral atomic oxygen line at 4.7 THz.
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