Title :
A 200-300 GHz single sideband SIS mixer for radio astronomy
Author :
Karpov, Alexandre ; Blondel, Jacques ; Billon-Pierron, Dominique ; Gundlach, Karl-Heinz
Author_Institution :
Submillimeter Astrophys. Group, California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA
fDate :
3/1/2001 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We present an ultra broadband low noise single sideband (SSB) SIS mixer developed for 200-300 GHz radio astronomy receivers. The mixer uses two Nb/AlOx/Nb junctions. Image band rejection by 20 dB is provided in the entire 200-300 GHz band using a mechanical tuning of the single noncontacting backshort in the mixer. The SIS receiver SSB noise temperature is close to 50 K in the main part of the band. A speed-up of the observations at radio telescopes by a factor 2-3 is expected with the new receiver
Keywords :
aluminium compounds; niobium; radioastronomical techniques; submillimetre wave receivers; superconductor-insulator-superconductor mixers; 200 to 300 GHz; Nb/AlOx/Nb junction; SSB noise temperature; image band rejection; mechanical tuning; noncontacting backshort; radio astronomy receiver; radio telescope; single sideband SIS mixer; Amplitude modulation; Atmosphere; Instruments; Niobium; Radio astronomy; Radio interferometry; Receivers; Spectroscopy; Telescopes; Temperature sensors;
Journal_Title :
Applied Superconductivity, IEEE Transactions on
