Title :
Design of a quasi optical transmission line for Cloud and precipitation radar system of ACE mission
Author :
Jamnejad, Vahraz ; Long, Ezra ; Durden, Stephen
Author_Institution :
Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA, USA
Abstract :
We outline the design and test of a new quasi-optical transmission line (QOTL) for feeding the reflector system in an optional instrument for deployment on the Aerosol/Cloud/Ecosystems (ACE) mission. The QOTL used to connect the transmitter and receiver to the antenna is designed for operation at W-band (94 GHz) frequency. A test-bed has been developed for the various critical components of the radar system. The challenge in using quasi-optics for ACERAD is that it must accommodate dual-polarized operation. We have developed a way to accomplish this that extends the design implemented in CloudSat radar jointly developed by JPL/NASA, Canadian Space Agency and other agencies. The new design has been prototyped using various components on a laboratory optical bench. Critical components of the QOTL have been fabricated and tested. Some results are presented.
Keywords :
meteorological radar; millimetre wave antennas; millimetre wave radar; optical communication; optical elements; optical receivers; optical transmitters; ACE Mission; ACERAD; Canadian Space Agency; CloudSat radar; JPL; NASA; QOTL; aerosol-cloud-ecosystems mission; cloud radar system; dual-polarized operation; laboratory optical bench; precipitation radar system; quasi optical transmission line; reflector system; Aerosols; Biographies; Biomedical optical imaging; MATLAB; Optical devices; Optical polarization; Optical reflection;
Conference_Titel :
Aerospace Conference, 2015 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Big Sky, MT
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4799-5379-0
DOI :
10.1109/AERO.2015.7119133
