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An upgrade to restrictions as a result of a change of philosophy toward PI receiver false lock avoidance is discussed. This changed philosophy concerns sweeping the receiver VCO sufficiently fast that sideband lock is precluded, rather than relying on the lock detector to discriminate between true lock and false lock signal conditions.
The thermal emission spectrum of the atmosphere near the 118 GHz oxygen resonance has been measured from the NASA Convair-990 aircraft as it flew over clear air and storms. The instrument viewed the ground 45 deg from nadir with a 7.5 deg beamwidth. Brightness temperatures were measured in six bands 200 MHz wide centered at frequencies 821-1891 MHz from the line at 118.7505 GHz. The double-sideband super-heterodyne receiver had 1 K sensitivity for 1 s integration. Comparison of observed clear air brightness temperatures (from 238 mb) with those computed for a coincident dropsonde yielded agreement within 1.4 K; the retrieved temperature profile agreed with the dropsonde with an average magnitude error of 1.4 K.
It is suggested that a comparison of the periodicities inferred from spectroscopic and photometric observations of SS433 may help clarify its structure. The interaction between the orbital and beam motions may produce sideband periods in the photometry. It is found that Lense-Thirring and slaved disk models make differing predictions.
The binary period of 4U 1626-67 was found from an analysis of its optical pulsations. A single lower frequency sideband of the 2.4% amplitude 7.68-s optical pulsations from this X-ray pulsar was detected on at least three different nights in Fourier transforms of high-speed photometry obtained with the CTIO 4 m telescope. The 0.42% sidelobe pulsations have a frequency which is 0.4011(2) mHz lower than the frequency of the direct pulsations near 130.26 mHz. The weaker sidelobe pulsations are interpreted as arising from X-ray to optical reprocessing on the companion star and are shifted to the lower frequency by the rotation frequency of the binary orbit because the X-ray pulsar spins in the same sense as the orbital motion (direct or prograde).
Rapid development of optically pumped lasers has shown the potential to be used as a source for a high resolution spectrometer. In this connection, a compact, stable FIR laser was designed, fabricated, and assembled, integrating both the pump laser and the FIR cavity in the same mechanical structure for its improved (both thermal and mechanical) stability and mobility. Performance of the mixer structure which was designed and constructed for the evaluation of the Schottky diodes was found to be satisfactory. The feasibility of generating tunable sideband for molecular spectroscopy studies was demonstrated.
An alternative to rectification is proposed for detection of an ultrasonic signal. This method is especially useful in medical and non-destructive evaluation (nde) applications. With this method, the magnitude of the complex analytic signal is used to define the envelope of the ultrasonic waveform. The square of this quantity has been shown elsewhere to be equal to the true rate-of-arrival of energy. An earlier study, using digital data processing, has already demonstrated the superior resolvability of closely spaced interfaces obtained with the analytic signal magnitude, as compared to conventional rectification. Here, an analogue implementation is presented which utilizes single-sideband techniques to obtain both quadrature components of the analytic signal and its magnitude. A conventional transducer, pulser, and receiver are used.
The groundwork for the use of advanced optical measurement techniques in Space Shuttle materials processing in space (MPS) experiments is being laid in tests, conducted aboard a NASA KC-135 aircraft flying a parabolic trajectory, involving a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and a sideband holographic unit. The two experiments described are (1) the observation of flow during solidification, in which fluid concentration and temperature profiles were measured during unidirectional solidification of a saturated NH4Cl-H2O solution, and (2) the observation of electrodeposition flow, in which interferometry is used to provide quantitative data required in the understanding of electrochemical process transport properties. The free-floating holographic unit was operated in the microgravity environment to both test the practicality of optical systems in such conditions and test the shock and vibration characteristics of the package.
Four line pilots performed simulator flights of 747s on different air routes in conditions of following other aircraft while maintaining a specified temporal flight interval separation. The flights were made in the heading-select mode of the autopilot, and the pitch wheel or altitude select/hold mode with the throttle on manual. A cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) on a CRT was presented in front of the throttles. A VOR radial with dotted centerlines and sidebands representing 3 km intervals was displayed, along with scales of distance depending on altitude. Traffic information was updated every four seconds. Simulated flights began at cruise and followed a standard profile descent, and traffic following intervals of 60, 80, 120, and 140 seconds were presented in different trials. Results indicated that a CDTI was sufficient instrumentation for trailing other aircraft, with low error rates up to the point of landing preparations.
Compatible linear demodulator (CLD) detects either amplitude modulation (AM) or single-sideband suppressed-carrier (SSB-SC) modulation. Carrier recovery homodyne product detector designed for voice communication but easily scaled to other frequencies.
Components required for extensions of currently planned space communications systems are discussed for large antennas, crosslink systems, single sideband systems, Aerostat systems, and digital signal processing. Systems using advanced modulation concepts and new concepts in communications satellites are included. The current status and trends in materials technology are examined with emphasis on bulk growth of semi-insulating GaAs and InP, epitaxial growth, and ion implantation. Microwave solid state discrete active devices, multigigabit rate GaAs digital integrated circuits, microwave integrated circuits, and the exploratory development of GaInAs devices, heterojunction devices, and quasi-ballistic devices is considered. Competing technologies such as RF power generation, filter structures, and microwave circuit fabrication are discussed. The fundamental limits of semiconductor devices and problems in implementation are explored.
A submillimeter heterodyne radiometer, developed for astronomical applications, uses an optically pumped laser local oscillator and a quasi-optical Schottky diode mixer. The resultant telescope-mounted system, which has a noise temperature less than 4000 K (double sideband) and high frequency and spatial resolution, has been used to detect the J = 6 to 5 rotational transition of carbon monoxide at 434 micrometers in the Orion molecular clouds. The measurements, when compared with previous millimeter-wave data, indicate that the broad carbon monoxide emission feature is produced by an optically thin gas whose temperature exceeds 180 K.
A compact low-noise V-band integrated circuit receiver has been developed for space communication systems. The receiver accepts an RF input of 60-63 GHz and generates an IF output of 3-6 GHz. A Gunn oscillator at 57 GHz is phaselocked to a low-frequency reference source to achieve high stability and low FM noise. The receiver has an overall single sideband noise figure of less than 10.5 dB and an RF to IF gain of 40 dB over a 3-GHz RF bandwidth. All RF circuits are fabricated in integrated circuits on a Duroid substrate.
A unique IF measurement procedure for evaluating mixer performance and identifying optimum circuit boundary conditions is presented. The technique is applied to a scalable mm-wave single-sideband (image-sum enhanced) mixer design which provides 3.5 to 5 dB typical conversion loss from conventional, packaged devices.
A correlation spectrometer permanently incorporates a reference cell and an electro-optical phase modulator (EOPM) in the light path between a sample cell and a detector. The effect of the EOPM is such that its frequency modulates all of the monochromatic component of the incoherent radiation passing through it. The EOPM is adjusted so that when it is ON all of the energy in the monochromatic components is thrown into sidebands differing from the original frequencies by integral multiples of the modulation frequency with the total amount of energy absorbed from the original radiation remaining constant. When there is no coincidence between the constituents in the two cells, the detector's output is the same when the EOPM is ON and when it is OFF. However, when there is coincidence the detector's output changes when the EOPM is switched between its two states. The change in the detector's output is related to the quantity of the constituents in the sample cell.
An airborne imaging 92/183 GHz radiometer was recently flown onboard NASA's Convair 990 research aircraft during the February 1983 Bering Sea Marginal Ice Zone Experiment (MIZEX-WEST). The 92 GHz portion of the radiometer was used to gather ice signature data and to generate real-time millimeter wave images of the marginal ice zone. Dry atmospheric conditions in the Arctic resulted in good surface ice signature data for the 183 GHz double sideband (DSB) channel situated + or - 8.75 GHz away from the water vapor absorption line. The radiometer's beam scanner imaged the marginal ice zone over a + or - 45 degrees swath angle about the aircraft nadir position. The aircraft altitude was 30,000 feet (9.20 km) maximum and 3,000 feet (0.92 km) minimum during the various data runs. Calculations of the minimum detectable target (ice) size for the radiometer as a function of aircraft altitude were performed. In addition, the change in the atmospheric attenuation at 92 GHz under varying weather conditions was incorporated into the target size calculations. A radiometric image of surface ice at 92 GHz in the marginal ice zone is included.
Problem of obtaining very-broadband frequency response resolved with buried-dielectric-microstrip matching network incorporated into infraredwaveguide structure. Waveguide modulator structure represents state-of-the-art of integrated optical devices: Has three-dimensional shape to accommodate three quarter-wavelength-transformers for microwave impendance matching at both input and output terminals. Microwave network, along with microstrip line designed with aid of computer, integrated with optical waveguide and used to tune line-selectable CO2 laser that provides total tuning range of 30 GHz in two sidebands.
Research activities were carried out in the following areas during this reporting period: (1) astrophysics; (2) climate and atmospheric modeling; and (3) climate applications of earth observations & geological studies. An ultra-low-noise 115 GHz receiver based upon a superconducting tunnel diode mixer has been designed and constructed. The first laboratory tests have yielded spectacular results: a single-sideband noise temperature of 75 K considerably more sensitive than any other receiver at this frequency. The receiver will replace that currently in use on the Columbia-GISS CO Sky Survey telescope. The 1.2 meter millimeter-wave telescope at Columbia University has been used to complete two large-scale surveys of molecular matter in the part of the inner galaxy which is visible from the Northern hemisphere (the first galactic quadrant); one of the distant galaxy and one of the solar neighborhood. The research conducted during the past year in the climate and atmospheric modeling programs has been focused on the development of appropriate atmospheric and upper ocean models, and preliminary applications of these models. Principal models are a one-dimensional radiative-convective model, a three-dimensional global climate model, and an upper ocean model. During the past year this project has focused on development of 2-channel satellite analysis methods and radiative transfer studies in support of multichannel analysis techniques.
A user-oriented computer program SISCAP (SIS Computer Analysis Program) for analyzing SIS mixers is described. The program allows arbitrary impedance terminations to be specified at all LO harmonics and sideband frequencies. It is therefore able to treat a much more general class of SIS mixers than the widely used three-frequency analysis, for which the harmonics are assumed to be short-circuited. An additional program, GETCHI, provides the necessary input data to program SISCAP. The SISCAP program performs a nonlinear analysis to determine the SIS junction voltage waveform produced by the local oscillator. The quantum theory of mixing is used in its most general form, treating the large signal properties of the mixer in the time domain. A small signal linear analysis is then used to find the conversion loss and port impedances. The noise analysis includes thermal noise from the termination resistances and shot noise from the periodic LO current. Quantum noise is not considered. Many aspects of the program have been adequately verified and found accurate.