An 800 GHz SIS Receiver for the RLT Incorporating a HIFI Band 3-type Mixer and SiGe LNA
Abstract
We have constructed an 810 GHz receiver system incorporating a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer developed for Band-3 of the HIFI instrument for Herschel space observatory and a wide-band SiGe low noise amplifier (LNA) designed at Caltech. The instrument is currently installed at the RLT telescope (elevation 5500 m) in northern Chile. Hot/cold (280K/72K) load measurements performed at the telescope yield noise temperatures of 225 K (Y-factor = 1.7) including receiver optics. First-light observations indicate that the receiver is highly sensitive and functions stably. We present details of the receiver system, its performance at the telescope, and first-light observations with a Herschel mixer.
- Publication:
-
Twentieth International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology
- Pub Date:
- April 2009
- Bibcode:
- 2009stt..conf...31H