Millimetre Instrumentation

Overview

We specialise in Millimetre Instrumentation R&D, with expertise in design and fabrication of low-noise radio receivers and their subsystems. Presently, our major activity is designing, building and testing ALMA Band 3 (84-116 GHz) receivers.

Research activities and projects
	ALMA Band 3 We are currently involved in the design and fabrication of 72 84-116 GHz heterodyne receivers for the international Atacama Large Millimetre array (ALMA).
	ALMA Band 1 Development Band 1 will be using cryogenic low-noise amplifiers as detectors to cover the 31.3-45 GHz Band (6.7-9.6 mm). The detected and amplified signal will be down-converted to lower frequencies using room temperature mixers (see figure). HIA is involved in design studies for the Band 1 Low-Noise Amplifier, optics, mixer and filter and the receiver systems.
	Band 1 Schematic Diagram (Courtesy of the ALMA Project)
	Low-Noise Amplifiers (LNA) We are developing LNAs for radio astronomy in the range 4-8 GHZ, 22-26 GHz and 30-45 GHz. These amplifiers are designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures.
	Highly Integrated Antenna Array Receiver for RF and Millimetre-Wave Applications Development of spectroscopic cameras for millimetre wavelengths is the next technology step that needs to be targeted for radio astronomy. These will provide larger field of view and increase telescope efficiency. We are developing planar technology, such as substrate integrated waveguides (SIW), for more efficient receivers.
	Square Kilometre Array (SKA): SKA Wide Band single Pixel Feed Antenna (WBSPF) The SKA base system design consists of 2000 to 3000 15 m diameter reflector antennas, each equipped with a Wide Band Single Pixel Feed (WBSPF) operating in the frequency range: 1 GHz to 10GHz. HIA is involved in the design of such a feed.

Infrastructure

We run the RF laboratory and clean room (class 5).

Click here for the lab photo gallery.

Partnering Opportunities

Our expertise can benefit not only the astronomy community, but also other fields such as:

• Passive millimetre-wave (PMMW) imaging, in the frequency range 30 to 300 GHz, in order to create images through fog or clothing, or for medical applications
• Radar systems
• Atmospheric research by probing spectrum of molecules responsible for ozone depletion

Current Collaboration Partners

Related Links

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Selected Publications

1. S. Claude, F. Jiang, P.Niranjanan, P. Dindo, D. Erickson, K. Yeung, D. Derdall, D. Duncan, D. Garcia, B. Leckie, M. Pfleger, G. Rodrigues, K. Szeto, P. Welle, I. Wood, K. Caputa, A. Lichtenberger and S-K. Pan “Performance of the Pre-production Band 3 (84-116 GHz) Receivers for ALMA”, in Millimeter and Submillimeter Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, edited by William D. Duncan, Wayne S. Holland, S. Withington and J. Zmuidzinas, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 7020 70201B-1 Marseille, France, June 26-28, 2008.
2. Ian Wood, David Dousset, Jens Borneman and Stephane Claude, “Linear Tapered Slot Antenna with Substrate Integrated Waveguide Feed”, 2007 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, June 10-15, 2007.
3. S. Claude, F. Jiang, P.Niranjanan, P. Dindo, D. Erickson, K. Yeung, D. Derdall, D. Duncan, D. Garcia, D. Henke, B. Leckie, M. Pfleger, G. Rodrigues, K. Szeto, P. Welle, I. Wood, K. Caputa, A. Lichtenberger, S-K. Pan, "Performance of the Band 3 (84-116 GHz) receiver for ALMA", presented at 17th Int'l Symp. on Space Terahertz Tech., Paris, May 10-12, 2006.
4. D. W. Henke, P. P. M. So, S. M. X. Claude, W. J. R. Hoefer, "Embedding the Quantum Mixer Theory into a Time Domain Field Solver", presented at 16th Int'l. Symp. on Space Terahertz Tech., May 2-4, 2005.
5. S. Claude, P. Dindo, D. Erickson, F. Jiang, K. Yeung, D. Derdall, D. Duncan, D. Garcia, D. Henke, B. Leckie, A. Lichtenberger, P. Niranjanan, S-K. Pan, M. Pfleger, G. Rodrigues, K. Szeto, P. Welle, K. Caputa, "The Band 3 Receiver (84-116 GHz) for ALMA", 30th Int'l. Conf. Infrared and Millimeter Waves, Williamsburg, USA, September 19-23, 2005.
6. N. Jiang, S. Claude, I. Wood, P. Niranjanan, D. Garcia, K. Yeung, P. Dindo, K. Szeto, P. Welle, G. Rodrigues, D. Derdall, D. Erickson, D. Duncan, B. Leckie, M. Pfleger, "Stability of Preamplifier in 84-116 GHz Receiver", 30th Int'l. Conf. Infrared and Millimeter Waves, Williamsburg, USA, September 19-23, 2005.
7. P. Dindo, S. Claude, D. Derdall, D. Henke, D. Erickson, G. Rodrigues, A. Lichtenberger, S-K. Pan, "Design and Characterization of Two Sideband SIS Mixer RF Hybrids for the Band 3 Receiver (84-116 GHz)", 30th Int'l. Conf. Infrared and Millimeter Waves, Williamsburg , USA , September 19-23, 2005 .
8. S-K. Pan, A. R. Kerr, M. W. Pospieszalski, E. F. Lauria, W. K. Crady, N. Horner, Jr., S. Srikanth, E. Bryerton, K. Saini, S. M. X. Claude, C. C. Chin, P. Dindo, G. Rodrigues, D. Derdall, J. Z. Zhang, A. W.Lichtenberger, "A Fixed-Tuned SIS Mixer with Ultra-Wide-Band IF and Quantum-Limited Sensitivity for ALMA Band 3 (84-116 GHz) Receivers", Proc. Fifteen International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology, April 27-29, 2004.
9. M. Carter, A. Baryshev, M. Harman, B. Lazareff, J. Lamb, S. Navarro, D. John, A-L. Fontanna, G. A. Ediss,
   C-Y. Tham, S. Withington, F. Tercero, R. Nesti, G. H. Tan, Y. Sekimoto, M. Matsunaga, H. Ogawa, S. Claude, "ALMA Front-end Optics", SPIE Conference, Glasgow, U.K., June 21-25, 2004, Proc. SPIE 5489, pp 1074-1084.
10. F. Jiang, S. Claude, K. Yeung, D. Garcia, "Low noise InP HEMT amplifier", SPIE Conference, Glasgow, June 2004.
11. S. Claude, "Sideband-Separating SIS Mixer for ALMA Band 7, 275-370 GHz". International Space Terahertz Conference, Tucson, AZ, April 22, 2003.
12. S. M. X. Claude, C. T. Cunningham, A. R. Kerr, S.-K. Pan, "Design of a Sideband-Separating Balanced SIS Mixer Based on Waveguide Hybrids", ALMA Memo #316, December 2000.

Millimetre Instrumentation | MI Staff | Image Gallery

Related Information

Millimetre Instrumentation Staff

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Institutes:

• NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics