TREND - A low noise terahertz receiver user instrument for AST/RO at the South Pole

Eyal Gerecht, Sigfrid Yngvesson, John Nicholson, Yan Zhuang, Fernando Rodriguez-Morales, Xin Zhao, Dazhen Gu, Richard Zannoni, Michael Coulombe, Jason Dickinson, Thomas Goyette, Jerry Waldman, Christopher Groppi, Abigail Hedden, Dathon Golish, Christopher Walker, Antony Stark, Christopher Martin, Adair Lane

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Based on the excellent performance of NbN HEB mixer receivers at THz frequencies which we have established in the laboratory, we are building a Terahertz REceiver with NbN HEB Device (TREND) to be installed on the 1.7 meter diameter AST/RO submillimeter wave telescope at the Amundsen/Scott South Pole Station. TREND is scheduled for deployment during the austral summer season of 2002/2003. The frequency range of 1.25 THz to 1.5 THz was chosen in order to match the good windows for atmospheric transmission and interstellar spectral lines of special interest. The South Pole Station is the best available site for THz observations due to the very cold and dry atmosphere over this site. In this paper, we report on the design of this receiver. In particular, we report on HEB mixer device performance, the quasi-optical coupling design using an elliptical silicon lens and a twin-slot antenna, the laser local oscillator (LO), as well as the mixer block design and the plans for coupling the TREND receiver to the sky beam and to the laser LO at the AST/RO telescope site.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)574-582
Number of pages9
JournalProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume4855
DOIs
StatePublished - 2002
EventMillimeter and Submillimeter Detectors for Astronomy - Waikaloa, HI, United States
Duration: Aug 25 2002Aug 28 2002

Keywords

  • HEB
  • Quasi-optical receivers
  • Radio telescopes
  • Submillimeter
  • Superconducting devices
  • Terahertz mixers

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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