A Tri-Band Cooled Receiver for Geodetic VLBI
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. The Tri-Band Receiver
- Simultaneous S/X/Ka band reception;
- S-band range: 2.2–2.7 GHz;
- X-band range: 7.5–9 GHz;
- Ka-band range: 28–33 GHz;
- Simultaneous dual circular polarization in all bands;
- Mean receiver noise temperature <30 Kelvin;
- NoiseCal and PhaseCal injection;
- Cooled receiver feed;
- Cooling time <12 h.
- The cryostat (dewar) with the cryo-cooled front-end (feed horn, hybrids, couplers, and low noise amplifiers);
- S-band downconverter;
- X-band downconverter;
- Ka-band downconverter;
- RF-over-fiber optical links for IF signal transportation through a 420-m-length fiber optic cable;
- NoiseCal and Phasecal Antenna Unit, for calibration signals generation, including 80 Hz switching of the noise source for continuous amplitude calibration;
- 5 MHz distributor for downconverters’ reference frequency;
- PhaseCal Ground Unit for the measurement of the delay introduced by the 5 MHz reference cable.
2.1. Receiver Feed
2.2. Receiver Cryostat
2.3. Hybrid Couplers
2.4. Low-Noise Amplifiers
2.5. Frequency Downconverters
2.6. Noise and Phase Calibration
3. Receiver Performance
4. Radio Telescope Performance with Tri-Band Receiver
5. Conclusions and Outlook
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parameter | Value |
---|---|
Intermediate stage temperature | <33 Kelvin |
Cold stage temperature | <16 Kelvin |
Tri-band feed temperature | <9 Kelvin |
Vacuum pressure | < mbar |
Leakage rate | < mbar/s |
Cooling time | <11 h |
Warming time with heaters | <11 h |
Warming time without heaters | <23 h |
Serial Number | YH90X | |
Description | 3 dB 90° cryogenic hybrid | |
Frequency range | 4–12 GHz | |
Nominal coupling | 3 dB | |
Connector | SMA female, sliding pin | |
Weight (typ.) | <36 g (1.27 oz) | |
Temperature | 297 Kelvin | 20 Kelvin |
Avg. equiv. insertion loss, | 0.55 dB max | 0.21 dB max |
Max. return loss (any port) | −20 dB | −20 dB |
Amplitude unbalance (max) | ±0.27 dB | ±0.3 dB |
Phase unbalance (max) | ±2° | ±2° |
Frequency range (GHz) | 2.2–2.7 | 7.5–9 | 28–33 |
Power dissipation (mW) | 5.2 | 8.3 | 7.1 |
Average noise temperature (Kelvin) | 3.4 | 5.5 | 16.4 |
Average gain (dB) | 26.2 | 33.6 | 24.9 |
Gain flatness (dBpp) | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
Max. input return loss (dB) | −11 | −3.3 | −9.5 |
Max. output return loss (dB) | −16 | −12.8 | −12.3 |
Parameter | S-Band | X-Band | Ka-Band |
---|---|---|---|
Frequency range | 2.2–2.7 GHz | 7.5–9 GHz | 28–33 GHz |
First local oscillator | 1.7 GHz | 10–13 GHz | 15–20 GHz |
Second local oscillator | - | 19.25 GHz | 12.25 GHz |
Output frequency range | 500–1000 MHz | 100–1000 MHz | 500–1000 MHz |
Gain | 11.8–31 dB | 12.2–31 dB | 11.3–31 dB |
Po1dB | +3 dBm | +1 dBm | 0 dBm |
Input matching | <−15 dB | <−20 dB | <−13 dB |
Output matching | <−11 dB | <−21 dB | <−11 dB |
LHCP | RHCP | LHCP | RHCP | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Frequency | TRX | TRX | Tcal | Tcal |
Band | (Kelvin) | (Kelvin) | (Kelvin) | (Kelvin) |
S (2.2–2.7 GHz) | 21.5 | 19.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
X (7.5–9 GHz) | 22.9 | 22.5 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
Ka (28–33 GHz) | 25.0 | 24.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
Frequency | Efficiency | SEFD | Tsys | HPBW |
---|---|---|---|---|
Band | (%) | (Jy) | (Kelvin) | (Arcmin) |
S (2.2–2.7 GHz) | 70 | 1700 | 50 | 42.5 |
X (7.5–9 GHz) | 75 | 1300 | 40 | 11.3 |
Ka (28–33 GHz) | 60 | 4000 | 100 | 3.2 |
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López-Pérez, J.A.; Tercero-Martínez, F.; Serna-Puente, J.M.; Vaquero-Jiménez, B.; Patino-Esteban, M.; García-Carreño, P.; González-García, J.; García-Pérez, Ó.; Beltrán-Martínez, F.J.; Albo-Castaño, C.; et al. A Tri-Band Cooled Receiver for Geodetic VLBI. Sensors 2021, 21, 2662. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21082662
López-Pérez JA, Tercero-Martínez F, Serna-Puente JM, Vaquero-Jiménez B, Patino-Esteban M, García-Carreño P, González-García J, García-Pérez Ó, Beltrán-Martínez FJ, Albo-Castaño C, et al. A Tri-Band Cooled Receiver for Geodetic VLBI. Sensors. 2021; 21(8):2662. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21082662
Chicago/Turabian StyleLópez-Pérez, José A., Félix Tercero-Martínez, José M. Serna-Puente, Beatriz Vaquero-Jiménez, María Patino-Esteban, Pablo García-Carreño, Javier González-García, Óscar García-Pérez, Francisco J. Beltrán-Martínez, Carlos Albo-Castaño, and et al. 2021. "A Tri-Band Cooled Receiver for Geodetic VLBI" Sensors 21, no. 8: 2662. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21082662
APA StyleLópez-Pérez, J. A., Tercero-Martínez, F., Serna-Puente, J. M., Vaquero-Jiménez, B., Patino-Esteban, M., García-Carreño, P., González-García, J., García-Pérez, Ó., Beltrán-Martínez, F. J., Albo-Castaño, C., Gallego-Puyol, J. D., López-Fernández, I., Díez-González, C., Malo-Gómez, I., Barbas-Calvo, L., de Vicente-Abad, P., & López-Fernández, J. A. (2021). A Tri-Band Cooled Receiver for Geodetic VLBI. Sensors, 21(8), 2662. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21082662