Development of superconducting mixers for THz astronomy

Abstract

The terahertz (THz) regime, loosely defined as 0.1-10 THz, is the last frequency window to be fully explored in astronomy. In particular, it is a regime in which there are rich molecular rotation lines and atomic fine structure lines. They are very important tracers for studying the dynamics of astronomical objects such as stars and planetary systems. Observing those spectral lines usually makes use of coherent detectors (i.e., heterodyne mixers). With sensitivity approaching the quantum limit, superconducting mixers have become the coherent detector of choice in THz astronomy. In this paper we mainly introduce the superconducting mixers developed at Purple Mountain Observatory and those for international collaborative projects.

Terahertz Graphene Plasmon Single Reflectarray Module Modeling

“…Приёмники и излучатели ТГц диапазона (300 ГГц -10 ТГц) нашли широкое применение в таких областях как получение изображений скрытых предметов под одеждой [1], радиоастрономия [2], медицина [3], передача данных [4]. Из-за высокого атмосферного поглощения ТГц излучения, одним из требований к приемо-передающим устройствам является наличие высоконаправленной антенны [5].…”