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Measurement of the reflector antenna absorption at terahertz frequencies by the method of a balanced radiometer

  • Radiophysics
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Abstract

The inherent noise of a prototype panel of the millimeter-wave telescope main reflector is measured at room temperature. A modulation radiometer based on a heterodyne detector with an input superconducting mixer and a balanced antenna switch is used. The noise temperature of the detector in the double-sideband mode equals 570 K at a local oscillator frequency of 842 GHz. The absorption factor of the aluminum panel calculated from the thermal radiation intensity is 0.31 ± 0.07%. This value is checked on samples made of phosphor bronze and stainless steel. The respective absorption factors are 0.41 ± 0.07 and 1.30 ± 0.07%, which are close to those obtained earlier for these materials using radiometers with direct-reading detectors. The wide dynamic range of the heterodyne detector simplifies calibration of the radiometer: there is no need to cool down the sensitive element below liquid helium temperature. A balanced switch of a new design makes it possible to radically suppress the influence of the background and take precision room-temperature measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kotel’nikov Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Mokhovaya ul. 11-7, Moscow, 125009, Russia

    S. V. Shitov, A. V. Uvarov, A. B. Ermakov & A. N. Vystavkin

Authors
  1. S. V. Shitov
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  2. A. V. Uvarov
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  3. A. B. Ermakov
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  4. A. N. Vystavkin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. V. Shitov.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © S.V. Shitov, A.V. Uvarov, A.B. Ermakov, A.N. Vystavkin, 2011, published in Zhurnal Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, 2011, Vol. 81, No. 11, pp. 112–121.

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Shitov, S.V., Uvarov, A.V., Ermakov, A.B. et al. Measurement of the reflector antenna absorption at terahertz frequencies by the method of a balanced radiometer. Tech. Phys. 56, 1652–1660 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063784211110223

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063784211110223

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