Cryogenic probing of mm-wave MMIC LNAs for large focal-plane arrays in radio-astronomy

R. Reeves, K. Cleary, R. Gawande, Jacob Kooi, James Lamb, A. Readhead, S. Weinreb, T. Gaier, P. Kangaslahti, Damon Russell, L. Samoska, M. Varonen, R. Lai, Stephen Sarkozy

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference article in proceedingsScientificpeer-review

    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In this paper, we demonstrate non-destructive cryogenic probing of monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers at W-band and discuss the implications for the development of large-format focal plane arrays for radio astronomy. Using a purpose-built cryogenic probe station to measure S-parameters and noise temperature of MMIC low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), an order of magnitude increase in efficiency can be achieved when compared with measurements on individually packaged amplifiers. The amplifiers are tested non-destructively, which enables selection based on cryogenic noise and gain; this is crucial for the development of highly-integrated miniaturized receivers for focal plane arrays, such as those used for the measurement of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization and future arrays aimed at probing the epoch of reionization (EoR).

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationEuropean Microwave Week 2014: Connecting the Future, EuMW 2014 - Conference Proceedings; EuMC 2014: 44th European Microwave Conference
    PublisherIEEE
    Pages1524-1527
    Number of pages4
    ISBN (Electronic)9782874870354
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 15 Dec 2014
    MoE publication typeA4 Conference publication
    EventEuropean Microwave Conference - Rome, Italy
    Duration: 6 Oct 20149 Oct 2014
    Conference number: 44

    Publication series

    NameEuropean Microwave Conference
    ISSN (Print)2325-0305

    Conference

    ConferenceEuropean Microwave Conference
    Abbreviated titleEuMC
    Country/TerritoryItaly
    CityRome
    Period06/10/201409/10/2014
    OtherHeld as Part of the 17th European Microwave Week, EuMW 2014

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