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A 345 GHZ heterodyne receiver for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

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Abstract

In this paper we describe the design and performance of a low-noise 345 GHz heterodyne receiver. The mixer uses a lead alloy SIS tunnel junction mounted in reduced height rectangular waveguide and is tuned with a single backshort. Local oscillator power is provided by a broad-band Gunn oscillator which drives a frequency quadrupler. The heterodyne performance has been verified in the laboratory using a gas absorption cell. In November 1991 this receiver was successfully commissioned and by direct comparison with a Schottky diode receiver we confirm a best receiver noise temperature of 150K (DSB) at 355 GHz and a tuning range of 300 to 380 GHz. The receiver is now available as a JCMT facility instrument.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, K1A 0R6, Ottawa, Ontario

    C. T. Cunningham, R. H. Hayward & J. D. Wade

  2. Electronic Enginnering Laboratories, University of Kent at Canterbury, CT2 7NT, Kent, Canterbury, UK

    S. R. Davies

  3. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, OX11 OQX, Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK

    D. N. Matheson

Authors
  1. C. T. Cunningham
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  2. R. H. Hayward
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  3. J. D. Wade
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  4. S. R. Davies
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  5. D. N. Matheson
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Cunningham, C.T., Hayward, R.H., Wade, J.D. et al. A 345 GHZ heterodyne receiver for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Int J Infrared Milli Waves 13, 1827–1843 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01011325

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01011325

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