Miniature low power submillimeter-wave spectrometer for detection of water in the Solar System

Author

Boric-Lubecke, O. ; Denning, R.F. ; Janssen, M.A. ; Frerking, M.A.

Author_Institution

Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA

Volume

2

fYear

1997

fDate

8-13 June 1997

Firstpage

569

Abstract

Mass and power for the next generation of NASA´s heterodyne spectrometers must be greatly reduced to satisfy the constraints of future small-spacecraft missions. We report on a 220 GHz Schottky-diode receiver, which requires less than 4.8 W, and has a mass of less than 1.5 kg-more than a factor of ten reduction in mass and power compared to current instruments. This significant savings was achieved through minimizing the number of receiver components, without compromising on the functionality necessary for a surface based Mars atmospheric sounding instrument.

Keywords

Mars; Schottky diode mixers; planetary atmospheres; radioastronomical techniques; radiofrequency spectrometers; submillimetre astronomy; submillimetre wave mixers; submillimetre wave receivers; submillimetre wave spectroscopy; 1.5 kg; 220 GHz; 4.8 W; 557 GHz; NASA heterodyne spectrometers; Schottky-diode receiver; Solar System; heterodyne receiver; low power submillimeter-wave spectrometer; mass reduction; power reduction; receiver component minimization; small-spacecraft missions; surface based Mars atmospheric sounding instrument; water detection; Atmospheric waves; Chemical technology; Frequency; Instruments; Mars; Mass spectroscopy; Prototypes; Radiometers; Solar system; Submillimeter wave technology;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwave Symposium Digest, 1997., IEEE MTT-S International

Conference_Location

Denver, CO, USA

ISSN

0149-645X

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3814-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MWSYM.1997.602857

Filename

602857