Sensitive, Compact 1x8 Array 530-600 GHz Receiver

This NASA invention is a highly compact and sensitive 530-600 GHz, 1x8 receiver array employing a multi-pixel approach to enhance simultaneous detection capabilities. The receiver has a conversion loss of <11dB, noise temperature of less than 2000 K at 540 GHz, and a wide IF bandwidth of ~70 GHz. The system reduces size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP) by 3-4x and increases sensitivity by factor of 2x or more relative to current state-of-the-art cascaded systems. The invention includes a power splitter circuit with an attenuation card, a mixer circuit coupled to an output of the power splitter circuit, and an antenna assembly coupled to an output of the mixer circuit. The splitter is a four-port waveguide designed with high position tolerance, and the waveguide attenuator provides a better than 20dB attenuator and balances the power split. A compact and high-efficiency Tripler circuit is integrated into the array system, that multiplies input frequency by a factor of 3. The system includes a sensitive, broadband sub-harmonic mixer circuit for 530-600 GHz frequency band operation (enabling the simultaneous detection of more than fourteen molecular species in this range e.g., water, deuterium oxide, oxygen, etc.) and integrated diagonal horn antennas to provide 24 dB gain with 9mm antenna spacing. Note that while originally designed for the 530-600 GHz band for remote sensing purposes, the design topology of the receiver can be easily scaled to support frequencies ranging from 1 GHz to > 1 THz and the center frequency can be tuned by adjusting design parameters. While NASA originally developed this receiver to enable miniaturized, low power consumption, high sensitivity heterodyne-based submillimeter wave spectrometers for small satellite-based planetary atmospheric sensing, potential applications of the novel receiver are broad. The multi-pixel, wideband receiver can be used in spectrometer and radar systems for applications including astronomy, plasma fusion, military, and emerging communication technologies such as 5G and 6G. The invention is available for patent licensing. High-resolution heterodyne-based millimeter-wave spectrometers are used in remote sensing for studying planetary atmospheres. Currently, single-pixel receivers in the submillimeter-wave range provide incomplete information on molecular targets that require simultaneous measurement of differential tangential heights (e.g., molecules with variations in their distribution, pressure, and temperature-dependent spectral features). This increases the time needed to perform a scan using bulky and high power-consumption mechanisms in order to provide accurate atmospheric molecular measurements. Additionally, the narrow intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth of current receiver technology limits the frequency window of molecular detection during the receiver down-conversation process. These limitations in receiver technology (e.g., bulky systems, high power consumption, limited IF bandwidth) hinder the the development of miniaturized spaceborne atmospheric remote sensing instruments that can be integrated and flown on small satellites. In response to this need, innovators at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center have developed a compact, sensitive, wideband and multi-pixel receiver to down-convert many molecular species simultaneously in the 530-600 GHz frequency range.