Development of millimeter- and submillimeter-wave local oscillator circuits for a space telescope

Imran Mehdi; Erich Schlecht; Aram Arzumanyan; Jean Bruston; Peter H. Siegel; R. Peter Smith; John C. Pearson; Suzanne C. Martin; David W. Porterfield

doi:10.1117/12.370180

12 November 1999 Development of millimeter- and submillimeter-wave local oscillator circuits for a space telescope

Imran Mehdi, Erich Schlecht, Aram Arzumanyan, Jean Bruston, Peter H. Siegel, R. Peter Smith, John C. Pearson, Suzanne C. Martin, David W. Porterfield

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3795, Terahertz and Gigahertz Photonics; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.370180
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1999, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

FIRST (Far InfraRed and Submillimeter Telescope) is a European science mission that will perform photometry and spectroscopy in the 80 - 670 micrometers range. The proposed heterodyne instrument for FIRST is a seven-channel receiver, which combines the high spectral resolving capability (0.3 - 300 km/s) of the radio heterodyne technique with the low noise detection offered by superconductor-insulator- superconductor and hot electron bolometer mixers. It is designed to provide almost continuous frequency coverage from 480 - 2700 GHz. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is responsible for developing and implementing the local oscillator sources for the 1200 - 2700 GHz mixers. The present state-of-the-art approach for millimeter-wave multipliers, based on waveguide blocks and discretely mounted devices, becomes harder and harder to implement as the frequency range is extended beyond 300 GHz. This talk will focus on the technology that is being developed to enhance and extend planar integrated Schottky devices and circuits to meet mission local oscillator requirements. The baseline approach is to use GaAs power amplifiers from 71 to 115 GHz followed by a series of planar Schottky diode varactor multiplier stages to generate the required LO signal. The circuits have to be robust, relatively easy to assemble, and must provide broad fix-tuned bandwidth. A number of new technology initiatives being implemented to achieve these goals will be discussed. Approaches include quartz-based and substrate-less diode circuitry and integrated GaAs membrane technology. Recent results and progress-to-date will be presented.

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Imran Mehdi, Erich Schlecht, Aram Arzumanyan, Jean Bruston, Peter H. Siegel, R. Peter Smith, John C. Pearson, Suzanne C. Martin, and David W. Porterfield "Development of millimeter- and submillimeter-wave local oscillator circuits for a space telescope", Proc. SPIE 3795, Terahertz and Gigahertz Photonics, (12 November 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.370180

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