Desert STAR: a 7-pixel 345-GHz heterodyne array receiver for the Heinrich Hertz Telescope

Christopher E. Groppi; Christopher K. Walker; Craig Kulesa; Dathon Golish; Abigail S. Hedden; P. Gensheimer; Gopal Narayanan; Arthur W. Lichtenberger; Urs U. Graf; Stefan Heyminck

doi:10.1117/12.459361

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17 February 2003 DesertSTAR: a 7 pixel 345 GHz heterodyne array receiver for the Heinrich Hertz Telescope

Christopher E. Groppi, Christopher K. Walker, Craig Kulesa, Dathon Golish, Abigail S. Hedden, P. Gensheimer, Gopal Narayanan, Arthur W. Lichtenberger, Urs U. Graf, Stefan Heyminck

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4855, Millimeter and Submillimeter Detectors for Astronomy; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.459361
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

DesertSTAR is a 7 beam, 345 GHz heterodyne array receiver for the Heinrich Hertz Telescope (HHT) on Mt. Graham, AZ. The instrument uses fixed-backshort Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) mixers with a broadband waveguide probe. Instantaneous bandwidths greater than 2 GHz can be achieved over the entire 345 GHz atmospheric window. A cryostat with a Joule-Thompson (JT) mechanical refrigerator allows continuous operation and 1.8W of cooling capacity at 4K, and provides the needed temperature stability for low-noise operation. Local Oscillator (LO) distribution is accomplished with a novel phase grating that yields high efficiency and power uniformity in a hexagonally symmetric geometry. The computer controlled bias system is an evolution of a proven design that is simple and portable to any computer platform. The 2 GHz Intermediate Frequency (IF) bandwidth allows the future addition of a wideband backend optimized for extragalactic observations, with ~1700 km/s of velocity coverage. We present measurements of receiver performance and plans for integration on the HHT.

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Christopher E. Groppi, Christopher K. Walker, Craig Kulesa, Dathon Golish, Abigail S. Hedden, P. Gensheimer, Gopal Narayanan, Arthur W. Lichtenberger, Urs U. Graf, and Stefan Heyminck "DesertSTAR: a 7 pixel 345 GHz heterodyne array receiver for the Heinrich Hertz Telescope", Proc. SPIE 4855, Millimeter and Submillimeter Detectors for Astronomy, (17 February 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.459361

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