Design philosophy and technology aspects of submillimeter wavelength radio telescopes

Author

Baars, J.W.M.

Author_Institution

Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Radioastrom., Bonn, Germany

fYear

1992

fDate

1-5 June 1992

Firstpage

1251

Abstract

Telescopes for wavelengths between 0.3 and 1 mm need a reflector surface accuracy of better than 25 mu m and a pointing precision of <1" under operational conditions. It is essential to control gravitational and thermal deformations to very small values. It is suggested that these can be achieved by the use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic materials and multiparameter structural optimization. This is illustrated by the design of the 10-m Submillimeter Telescope (SMT) of the Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie and the Steward Observatory. Also discussed are the characteristics of present-day receivers for these wavelengths. SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) diode technology can be applied to frequencies of about 500 GHz.<>

Keywords

carbon fibre reinforced plastics; design engineering; radioastronomical techniques; radiotelescopes; submillimetre astronomy; submillimetre wave devices; superconducting junction devices; superconducting microwave devices; 0.3 to 1 THz; 0.3 to 1 mm; 10 m; 500 GHz; C-fibre reinforced plastic; CFRP; Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie; SIS diode; Steward Observatory; THF; carbon fiber; design philosophy; frequencies; multiparameter structural optimization; operational conditions; pointing precision; present-day receivers; reflector surface accuracy; submillimetre telescopes; technology aspects; thermal deformation control gravitational deformation control; Fiber reinforced plastics; Observatories; Optical design; Organic materials; Space technology; Submillimeter wave technology; Superconducting materials; Surface waves; Surface-mount technology; Telescopes;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwave Symposium Digest, 1992., IEEE MTT-S International

Conference_Location

Albuquerque, NM, USA

ISSN

0149-645X

Print_ISBN

0-7803-0611-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MWSYM.1992.188227

Filename

188227