Receiver Lab Talks: 2021
Questions: Edward Tong
Time: Wednesday 1:00 PM EDT (5:00 PM UTC)
Where: Zoom
| Date | Speaker | Title | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10 | Michael Moebius Draper Lab |
MEMS Beamsteering for Solid State LiDAR and Metrology | Draper has developed a novel solid-state beamsteering method for Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) systems, based on integrated photonics and Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). A focal plane array of MEMS-actuated grating switches, coupled to a camera lens, scans light across a scene. We have demonstrated a 10 x 10 piexel prototype time-of-flight LiDAR. Implementing this hardware with coherent LiDAR techniques can enable a powerful tool for metrology. |
| Nov 10 | Tony Stark CfA |
SPT-3G and SPT-4 plans | SPT-3G is a detector system for the 10-m diameter South Pole Telescope at 90, 150 and 220 GHz that has been in operation for the past 3 years. It has a monolithic detector surface with ~10,000 bolometers fed by three alumina lenses that image and correct the Gregorian focus. SPT-4 is a planned successor instrument that will operate at higher frequencies, measurements that will enhance the interpretation of the SPT-3G survey data. The redesign of the optics for SPT-4 will allow the Event Horizon Telescope receivers for SPT to be co-located within the warm cabin environment, and permit a rapid, automated transition between receivers. |
| Nov 3 | Paul Grimes CfA |
Optics for wSMA and Beyond | |
| Oct 27 | Attila Kovacs CfA |
Parametric Amplifiers | |
| Oct 20 | Lingzhen Zeng CfA |
Updates on the wSMA Receiver Cartridge Development | The wSMA receiver cartridges are highly-integrated receiver systems that are challenging to design and build. In this talk, I will give an overview of the wSMA receiver cartridge design features, followed by the difficulties we encountered and the solutions we provided during the cartridge development. Finally, I will be presenting the latest measurement results on the two science cartridges that have been fully populated. |
| Oct 13 | Tyler St. Germaine Harvard University | Beam and FTS Systematics in the BOCEP/Keck Array CMB Experiments | Inflation, an extension to the standard cosmological (LCDM) model which posits a brief, accelerated expansion early in the Universe, naturally solves the horizon and flatness problems and provides a source of the initial perturbations that seed large-scale structure. Inflation predicts a background of gravitational waves which would imprint a unique B-mode pattern in the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), with an amplitude parametrized by the tensor-to-scalar ratio r. The BICEP/Keck Array series of CMB experiments has been observing the polarized CMB from the South Pole since 2006, using small-aperture, on-axis refractors, and has produced world-leading constraints on r from B-mode measurements. As a pair-differencing experiment, an important systematic that must be controlled is the differential beam response between the co-located, orthogonally polarized detectors. In this talk I present high-fidelity measurements of the beam response, and use specialized simulations to predict the bias on r from temperature-to-polarization leakage. I consider other utility of these beam measurements, including optical model comparison and the development of simple metrics used to facilitate model comparisons. I also present measurements of the detector spectral response with a field-deployable Fourier Transform Spectrometer, and discuss how bandpass uncertainties affect the constraint on r. |
| Oct 6 | Edward Tong CfA | A Singularity-free Method of extracting Noise Parameters using Noise Power Measurements | The noise performance of a microwave amplifier can be described by its noise parameters, which determine the amplifier noise as a function of its source impedance. These parameters are essential for low noise receiver systems, for example SIS mixers tightly integrated with a low noise amplifier, and MHz amplifiers attached to a wideband dipole antenna. In this talk, I will describe the traditional method of noise parameter extraction and a new singularity-free approach using noise power measurements. |
| May 12 | Ram Rao CfA | Polarimetry at the SMA: Current Status and Evolution | I will be presenting a primer on polarization observations with an interferometer array especially focussing on the SMA. Polarimetric observations were first started in 2003 and were aimed at measuring the polarization of the galactic center. They have been extensively used to study polarization phenomena from different types of astrophysical objects including solar system objects, star forming regions, and also AGNs. This talk will cover the basics of the technical aspects of conducting polarization observations and also discuss the future system when the wSMA is online. |
| May 5 | Derek Kubo ASIAA | Sampler clock for digitization within the antenna receiver cabin | One future development option for the SMA is to digitize the receiver IF output within the antenna receiver cabin similar to what ALMA is presently doing. In order to understand what such a project involves, we are looking into the requirements for the sampler clock. In this talk, I will propose some implementation options based on the existing infrastructure of the SMA. |
| April 21 | Alex Raymond EHT | Resampling of SWARM Phased Array Output for VLBI Correlation | The SWARM Phased Array produces four-bit real, four-bit imaginary channelized samples across a 2288 MHz Nyquist band. For correlation with other EHT stations, those data must be down-converted to 2048 MHz, two-bit time-domain samples. This talk will explain how this conversion is done using tools developed by Katherine Rosenfeld, André Young, Mark Peryer, and Jonathan Weintroub, and how we hope to do conversion in the future |
| April 7 | TK Sridharan CfA | Coherence, Interferometry & Phase Noise - SMA | Starting with a quick conceptual introduction to coherence and interferometry we will discuss the impact of phase fluctuations on interferometric observations. The electronic component of the phase fluctuations arising from the local oscillator (LO) and its quantification will be outlined. Measurements of the phase noise performance of the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) based wSMA LO will be presented and its adequacy discussed. |
| March 31 | Edward Tong & John Test CfA | Sideband Separation using Analog Circuits from I and Q Outputs of 2SB Receivers at Low IF | Last week, Karto has proposed a digital approach to separate the 2 sidebands detected by 2SB SIS receivers of an interferometer -- an approach particularly appealing to IF near DC. As a follow-up of his talk, we are examining the various schemes by which the sideband separation at low IF can be implemented using analog circuits, which would be useful for single dish radio-telescopes as well as for lab and initial interferometric tests. Assuming a pair of 0.2-4 GHz in-phase(I) and out-of-phase(Q) outputs from the cryostat, the proposed schemes will generate the 2 sidebands from these baseband signals |
| March 24 | Garrett Keating CfA | A Potential Astronomical Calibration Technique for a 2SB Interferometer | As discussion surrounding a potential 2SB system on SMA has increased, a question has arisen about the optimal technique for separating the two sidebands, particularly at the near-DC IF frequencies that the SMA is slated to expand down to. In this talk, I will discuss a potential technique utilizing astronomical sources to digitally reconstruct the separated sidebands in offline processing, in similar fashion to how astronomical calibrators are used for bandpass calibration. If validated, it could provide a natural, efficient path for upgrading the SMA from a DSB to 2SB receiver set at some future date. |
| March 10 | Todd Hunter NRAO | ALMA Front-End and Digitizer Technical Requirements to Enable the ALMA 2030 Development Roadmap | The ALMA Development Roadmap defines a new long-term development strategy for the upgrade of hardware, software, and analysis tools to enhance the science capabilities of ALMA for the next decade. I will present highlights of the draft report from the working group on the ALMA Front End and Digitizer Requirements Upgrade, beginning with a summary of the original specification and current performance of these components of the ALMA system. I will then show the proposed new specifications, which are still under review. |
| March 3 | Edward Tong & John Garrett CfA | Implementation of 2SB Receivers | In this talk, we will examine how digital signal processing techniques have helped to advance the state-of-the-art of side-band-separating receivers (2SB receivers). These techniques open the possibility for 2SB receivers for wSMA, which will feature a dual IF system, extending from close to DC to 16+ GHz. The goal of the talk is to initiate further discussions to develop a road map for the development and deployment of 2SB receivers for wSMA. |
| February 24 | Lingzhen Zeng CfA | Development of orthomode transducers for the wSMA | Orthomode transducers (OMTs) are important passive components widely used in millimeter wave and Terahertz band for remote sensing and astronomical observations. By separating the received signal into two orthogonal linearly polarized components, the OMT proves to be an essential for receiver systems designed to observe the two orthogonal polarization simultaneously. In this presentation, I will first summarize the popular OMT designs in millimeter/submillimeter wavebands. Then I will focus on the wSMA OMT design, fabrication, measurement and integration. |
| February 10 | Edward Tong CfA | Tuning circuits for SIS mixers | This is a follow-up of the introductory talk I gave in May 2020: "The Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor mixer -- some basic concepts and history". I will review the different tuning circuits used in SIS mixer design. These circuits tune out the geometrical capacitance of the SIS junction and allow the SIS mixer to deliver quantum-limited sensitivities. |
| February 3 | John Garrett CfA | Waveguide Attenuation: Conductor and Dielectric Loss | In this talk, we present a new technique to measure waveguide attenuation. We have used this technique to measure the conductor loss of different WR-2.8 waveguides (copper, gold and aluminum) at both room and cryogenic temperatures. We have also measured the loss tangent of different dielectric materials loaded inside a WR-28 waveguide (HDPE, PTFE and nylon). |
| January 27 | Kuan-Yu Liu ASIAA/JCMT | Replacement SIS mixers for HARP at JCMT | Replacement superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer chips have been developed and fabricated for the 16-element Heterodyne Array Receiver Program (HARP) instrument, which operates between 330 and 375 GHz on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). The availability of these new mixer chips is very important for the repair and upgrade of HARP. Three of the sixteen mixers have been replaced and the results indicate that the performance of these new mixers is as good as the best original mixers. |
Previous presentations available here: CfA managed Google Drive
