High-sensitivity receiver systems for use with RF and THz radio telescopes and commercial systems

拟议的研究将以申请人的优势为基础，扩展先前开始的研究并走上新的研究道路。在过去成功的基础上，第一个研究目标是展示在低GHz频率范围内工作的高灵敏度、完全集成的宽带平方公里阵列（SKA）接收器。拟议的研究将通过研究直接采样高增益SKA接收器的其他基本组件的实现来继续申请人之前的工作，例如抗混叠滤波器，可变增益放大器和校准功率检测器。一旦配备了额外的电路，还将进行增加光学数据传输系统的研究，该系统也将通过采用基于时间的ADC架构作为ADC。这个完整的接收器将被放置在一个“厚”维瓦尔第天线中，并将成为一个非常独特的系统，将射频宽带接收信号转换为数字化光输出。为了展示高灵敏度接收器的商业潜力，该公司还计划开发一款高端GPS接收器，该接收器配备了与接收器前端共同设计的新型低噪声ESD电路。将设计一个概念验证GPS接收器，以实验验证其特性。

The proposed research will build on applicant's strengths by expanding the previously started research and embarking on a new research path. The first research objective, which builds on the past success, is to demonstrate highly sensitive, fully integrated, wideband Square Kilometre Array (SKA) receiver operating at low GHz frequency range. The proposed research will continue applicant's prior work by investigating the implementations of other essential components of the direct-sampling high-gain SKA receiver, such as an anti-aliasing filter, a variable gain amplifier and a calibrated power detector. Once furnished with the additional circuitry, an investigation of adding an optical data transfer system, which will also serve as the ADC by employing a time-based ADC architecture, will also be conducted. This complete receiver will be placed inside a "thick" Vivaldi antenna and will become a very unique system that converts RF broad-band received signal to a digitized optical output. A demonstration of commercial potentials of the highly sensitive receivers are also planned with a development of a high-end GPS receiver equipped with novel low-noise ESD circuitry that is co-designed with the receiver front-end. A proof-of-concept GPS receiver will be designed to validate its characteristics experimentally. A unique noise parameter measurement system for frequency conversion circuits will be developed, as part of the second research objective, to gain a deeper understanding of noise performance of frequency conversion circuits and provide us with design guidelines for their noise minimization. The third research objective is the development of fully integrated cryogenic 460GHz and 830GHz receivers for Cerro Chajnantor Atacama Telescope (CCAT) in Chile. The work will be broken into a number of projects consisting of a design of a fundamental 437.5GHz VCO, 437.5GHz and 830GHz frequency dividers, a phase-locked loop for the 437.5GHz VCO, 460GHz and 415GHz mixers, 22.5GHz LNA and IF-to-based band converter.