A 4.7THz heterodyne receiver for a balloon borne telescope
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We report on the performance of a high sensitivity 4.7 THz heterodyne receiver based on a NbN hot electron bolometer mixer and a quantum cascade laser (QCL) as local oscillator. The receiver is developed to observe the astronomically important neutral atomic oxygen [OI] line at 4.7448 THz on a balloon based telescope. The single-line frequency control and improved beam pattern of QCL have taken advantage of a third-order distributed feedback structure. We measured a double sideband receiver noise temperature (T[subscript rec(DSB)]) of 815 K, which is ~ 7 times the quantum noise limit (hν/2kB). An Allan time of 15 s at an effective noise fluctuation bandwidth of 18 MHz is demonstrated. Heterodyne performance was further supported by a measured methanol line spectrum around 4.7 THz.
Date issued
2014-07Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer ScienceJournal
Proceedings of SPIE--the International Society for Optical Engineering
Publisher
SPIE
Citation
Hayton, D. J., J. L. Kloosterman, Y. Ren, T. Y. Kao, J. R. Gao, T. M. Klapwijk, Q. Hu, C. K. Walker, and J. L. Reno. “A 4.7THz Heterodyne Receiver for a Balloon Borne Telescope.” Edited by Wayne S. Holland and Jonas Zmuidzinas. Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy VII (July 23, 2014). © 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0277-786X