A Very Low-Noise Integrated 3MM-Wave Schottky Diode Mixer and PHEMT IF Amplifier

An integrated 3mm-wave Schottky diode mixer and pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (PHEMT) IF amplifier with record noise performance at room temperature is described. The design has shown the room-temperature double-sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature T_R^DSB of 190 K at 100 GHz due to a very low conversion loss in the full-height waveguide mixer and an ultra-low noise of the PHEMT IF amplifier. The receiver noise temperature has been reduced by a factor of 1.5 in comparison with the best previously reported 3mm-wave Schottky diode mixer receiver.     

Measured mixer noise temperature and conversion loss of a cryogenic Schottky diode mixer near 800 GHz

We accurately measured the noise temperature and conversion loss of a cryogenically cooled Schottky diode operating near 800 GHz, using the UCB/MPE Submillimeter Receiver at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. The receiver temperature was in the range of the best we now routinely measure, 3150 K (DSB). Without correcting for optical loss or IF mismatch, the raw measurements set upper limits ofT _M=2850 K andL _M=9.1 dB (DSB), constant over at least a 1 GHz IF band centered at 6.4 GHz with an LO frequency of 803 GHz. Correction for estimated optical coupling and mismatch effects yieldsT _M=1600 K andL _M=5.5 dB (DSB) for the mixer diode itself. These values indicate that our receiver noise temperature is dominated by the corner cube antenna's optical efficiency and by mixer noise, but not by conversion loss or IF mismatch. The small fractional IF bandwidth, measured mixer IF band flatness from 2 to 8 GHz, and similarly good receiver temperatures at other IF frequencies imply that these values are representative over a range of frequencies near 800 GHz.     

High Doping Density Schottky Diodes in the 3MM Wavelength Cryogenic Heterodyne Receiver

The paper describes a 3mm cryogenic mixer receiver using high doping density (“room-temperature”) Schottky diodes. The measured equivalent noise temperature T_eq of the diodes is 109 K at 20 K, which is much higher than the T_eq of the low doping density (“cryogenic”) diodes. In spite of this, the double-sideband (DSB) noise temperature of the cryogenic receiver developed is 55 K at 110 GHz, owing to the low conversion loss of the mixer and ultra-low noise of the PHEMT IF amplifier. This is the lowest noise temperature ever reported for a Schottky diode mixer receiver. The results obtained are useful for the development of submm receivers in which high doping density Schottky diodes are used.     

Investigation of a heterodyne receiver with open structure mixer at 324 GHz and 693 GHz

The performance of a submillimeter heterodyne receiver using an HCOOH laser local oscillator and an open structure mixer with a Schottky barrier diode has been optimized for 693 GHz. Working at room temperature a single sideband (SSB) system noise temperature of 7,300 K, a mixer noise temperature of 6,100 K and a conversion loss of 12 dB has been achieved. The same receiver system has been investigated at 324 GHz using an HCOOD laser local oscillator yielding a noise temperature of 3,100 K (SSB), a mixer noise temperature of 2,400 K (SSB) and a conversion loss of 10 dB (SSB). An acousto-optical spectrometer has also been constructed, with 1024 channels and a channel-bandwidth of 250 kHz. The system NEP per channel was 2.5×10^–17 W/Hz^1/2 at 324 GHz and 5.0×10^–17 W/Hz^1/2 at 693 GHz.     

0.34 THz无线通信收发前端

描述了一种基于肖特基二极管技术的0.34 THz无线通信收发前端。该前端采用超外差结构,由0.34 THz谐波混频器、0.17 THz本振8倍频链和偏置电路组成。0.34 THz谐波混频器基于反向并联肖特基二极管,可以实现信号的上变频发射和下变频低噪声检测。0.17 THz本振8倍频链由三级二倍频及驱动放大链路组成,可将20~22.5 GHz信号倍频至0.16~0.18 THz,为混频器提供5~10 dBm左右的本振信号。实验测试结果表明:该前端用于信号发射时,在0.34 THz频点的饱和输出功率为-14.58 dBm;用于信号检测时,最低单边带(SSB)变频损耗为10.0 dB,3 dB中频带宽约30 GHz。限于测试条件,未能测试前端接收噪声温度,仿真得到的双边带噪声温度数值低于1000 K。在该前端基础上,完成了首次基于16QAM 数字调制体制的0.34 THz无线通信实验,传输速率达3 Gb/s。     

A 345 GHZ heterodyne receiver for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

In this paper we describe the design and performance of a low-noise 345 GHz heterodyne receiver. The mixer uses a lead alloy SIS tunnel junction mounted in reduced height rectangular waveguide and is tuned with a single backshort. Local oscillator power is provided by a broad-band Gunn oscillator which drives a frequency quadrupler. The heterodyne performance has been verified in the laboratory using a gas absorption cell. In November 1991 this receiver was successfully commissioned and by direct comparison with a Schottky diode receiver we confirm a best receiver noise temperature of 150K (DSB) at 355 GHz and a tuning range of 300 to 380 GHz. The receiver is now available as a JCMT facility instrument.     

An Integrated Sideband-Separating SIS Mixer Based on Waveguide Split Block for 100 GHz Band with 4.0–8.0 GHz IF

We have developed an integrated sideband-separating SIS mixer for the 100 GHz band based on the waveguide split block. The measured receiver noise temperatures with 4.0–8.0 GHz IF are less than 60 K in the LO frequency range of 90–110 GHz, and a minimum value of around 45 K is achieved at 100 GHz. The image rejection ratios are more than 10 dB in the frequency range of 90–110 GHz. We have installed the sideband-separating SIS mixer into an atmospheric ozone-measuring system at Osaka Prefecture University and successfully observed an ozone spectrum at 110 GHz in SSB mode. This experimental result indicates that the sideband-separating SIS mixer is very useful for astronomical observation as well as atmospheric observation.     

Low-noise Quasioptical 2,0-mm and 1,5-mm Schottky mixer receivers

Quasioptical 2-mm and 1,5 mixer receivers for room temperature operation are described. Receivers incorporates polarization-rotationing dual-beam interferometers, used as antenna-heterodyn diplexer, waveguide Schottky diode mixers, carcinotron (BWO) and carcinitron with the frequency doubler, used as local oscillators (LO), and GaAs IF amplifiers. The best receiver noise temperatures are 600K (DSB) at 2,0-mm and 800K (DSB) at 1,5-mm wavelengths bands. The performance of these receivers is also discussed.     

A 119 GHz planar Schottky diode mixer for a space application

A planar single-ended GaAs Schottky diode mixer has been designed, built, and tested at 119 GHz. The mixer front end includes also a waveguide filter for image rejection, and a temperature compensated ring filter. Measurements at room temperature showed a conversion loss of 7 dB and a noise temperature of 900 K (SSB). At 100 K the measured noise temperature of the mixer was 500 K (SSB).     

A Broad-Band Low-Noise Schottky Diode Full-Height Waveguide Mixer from 80 to 115 GHz

The RF matching problem in the input circuit of the mm-wavelength whisker contacted Schottky diode mixer is studied. The experimental results, obtained on the 3mm wavelength mixer mounts in the broad band of frequencies from 80 to 115 GHz are presented. It is shown that advantage in the receiver noise temperature may be realized by the use of a full-height instead of 1/4-reduced-height waveguide because of reduction loss in the mixer input circuit even beginning from the 3mm-wavelength. With a full-height waveguide mixer the double sideband (DSB) receiver noise temperature is 300 divided by 350K over the 85 to 110 GHz band. Input bandwidth of the fullheight waveguide mixer (cap delta f _S/f _SO greater than 30%) is equal to 1/2-and close to 1/4-reduced-height waveguide mixers.     

A 210–280 GHz sis heterodyne receiver for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope part I: Design and performance

We describe the design and performance of a 210–280 GHz SIS heterodyne receiver built for use on the Maxwell Telescope. The mixer utilises a lead alloy SIS tunnel junction, mounted in 41 reduced height rectangular waveguide, and is tuned with a backshort in 21 reduced height guide. The receiver has a receiver noise temperature of <200K (DSB) across the RF band from 210–270 GHz, with a best noise temperature measured in the laboratory of 113K (DSB) at 231 GHz. A prototype version of this receiver was successfully operated on the telescope in May 1989. By direct intercalibration with a Schottky diode receiver we deduced a best receiver noise temperature of 140K (DSB) at 245 GHz. Discrepancies between this figure and that derived from broad band thermal load calibration are discussed in the accompanying paper (Little et al., 1992, this issue).     

A 345GHz SIS receiver for radio astronomy

A 345GHz superconductor insulator superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction receiver utilizing a full height rectangular waveguide mixer with two tuning elements, i.e. an E-plane and backshort tuner, has been constructed and installed on the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory 10m antenna on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The receiver exhibits a best double side-band noise temperature response of 150K±20K (averaged over a 500 MHz IF bandwidth centered at 1.5GHz) at a design center frequency of 345GHz and at an ambient temperature of approximately 3.8K. Additional measurements show that the receiver has an excellent response at selected points within an RF input range of 280 to 363GHz.     

A Low Noise NbTiN-Based 850 GHz SIS Receiver for the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory

We have developed a niobium titanium nitride (NbTiN) based superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) receiver to cover the 350 micron atmospheric window. This frequency band lies entirely above the energy gap of niobium (700 GHz), a commonly used SIS superconductor. The instrument uses an open structure twin-slot SIS mixer that consists of two Nb/AlN/NbTiN tunnel junctions, NbTiN thin-film microstrip tuning elements, and a NbTiN ground plane. The optical configuration is very similar to the 850 GHz waveguide receiver that was installed at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) in 1997. To minimize front-end loss, we employed reflecting optics and a cooled beamsplitter at 4 K. The instrument has an uncorrected receiver noise temperature of 205K DSB at 800 GHz and 410K DSB at 900 GHz. The degradation in receiver sensitivity with frequency is primarily due to an increase in the mixer conversion loss, which is attributed to the mismatch between the SIS junction and the twin-slot antenna impedance. The overall system performance has been confirmed through its use at the telescope to detect a wealth of new spectroscopic lines.     

A 492 GHz Submillimeter-Wave Receiver

A 492 GHz submillimeter receiver was designed for application to the POrtable Submillimeter Telescope (POST). The receiver includes a Schottky diode mixer, a phase-locked Gunn oscillator at 82.3 GHz coupled with multipliers (×2×3), and low-noise amplifiers. In this paper, the system configuration and performance will be introduced.     

A 275–370 GHz Receiver Employing Novel Probe Structure

We present the results of the development of a 275–370 GHz, fixed-tuned double sideband (DSB) receiver based on superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junction mixer. The mixer block uses a full height rectangular waveguide and employs a novel radial-like probe structure with integrated bias-T. The measured uncorrected receiver noise temperature is 30–50 K corresponding to about 2–3 quantum noise across the full frequency band with an IF from 3.8 to 7.6 GHz. The mixer is to be used on the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) submillimeter telescope in Chile.     

Measurements of the sideband conversion gain ratio of a millimeter-wave heterodyne sub-harmonic mixer using a fourier transform spectrometer

A Fourier transform spectrometer, based on a Martin-Puplett polarisation rotation interferometer and using broad-band blackbody noise sources, has been used to study the sideband response i.e., conversion gain, of a room temperature Schottky diode sub-harmonic mixer operating at 300 GHz. The technique enables the response of the mixer to be characterised and preferentially tuned to one sideband, thereby improving the rejection of unwanted spectral components which can be present in the mixer image sideband.     

180–425 GHz low noise SIS waveguide receivers employing tuned Nb/AIOx/Nb tunnel junctions

We report recent results on a 20% reduced height 270–425 GHz SIS waveguide receiver employing a 0.49 µm² Nb/AlO _x /Nb tunnel junction. A 50% operating bandwidth is achieved by using a RF compensated junction mounted in a two-tuner reduced height waveguide mixer block. The junction uses an end-loaded tuning stub with two quarter-wave transformer sections. We demonstrate that the receiver can be tuned to give 0–2 dB of conversion gain and 50–80% quantum efficiency over parts of it's operating range. The measured instantaneous bandwidth of the receiver is 25 GHz which ensures virtually perfect double sideband mixer response. Best noise temperatures are typically obtained with a mixer conversion loss of 0.5 to 1.5 dB giving uncorrected receiver and mixer noise temperatures of 50K and 42K respectively at 300 and 400 GHz. The measured double sideband receiver noise temperature is less than 100K from 270 GHz to 425 GHz with a best value of 48K at 376 GHz, within a factor of five of the quantum limit. The 270–425 GHz receiver has a full 1 GHz IF passband and has been successfully installed at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii. Preliminary tests of a similar junction design in a full height 230 GHz mixer block indicate large conversion gain and receiver noise temperatures below 50K DSB from 200–300 GHz. Best operation is again achieved with the mixer tuned for 0.5–1.5 dB conversion loss which at 258 GHz resulted in receiver and mixer noise temperature of 34K and 27K respectively.     

Low noise completely quasioptical SIS receiver for radioastronomy at 115 GHZ

Completely quasioptical heterodyne SIS receiver for radioastronomical applications at 115 GHz was designed and tested. Gaussian beam two lens input guide system and open structure SIS mixer with immersion lens were used. Integrated quasioptical structure consists of planar equiangular spiral antenna and superconductor—insulator—superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction as a mixing element connected to the antenna via microstrip impedance transformer. The best SIS mixer noise temperature at hot input and for heterodyne frequency 109.8 GHz with IF central frequency 1.4 GHz (DSB) was 28±7 K at the first quasiparticle step and 8±6 K at the second step.     

基于二极管精确电路模型的183GHz分谐波混频器设计

针对亚毫米波混频二极管管对电路模型不够精确的问题,采用场路结合协同分析,将进出二极管的频率信号分类处理,建立了一种应用于亚毫米波分谐波混频器电路的反向并联二极管对精确电路模型。基于获取的管对精确电路模型,建立了全局性的分谐波混频器电路的集总元件等效电路模型,设计并实现了一款183GHz分谐波混频器。测试结果表明混频器在本振频率为92GHz、功率为2mW,射频频率176~192GHz范围内,双边带变频损耗小于6.8dB,等效噪声温度小于800K,在182GHz测得最小双边带变频损耗为4.9dB,与仿真数据吻合较好。