[en] Heterodyne detection with a point contact Josephson junction was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. From results at 36 GHz, a potentially impressive performance for these devices at submillimeter wavelengths can be extrapolated

[en] We present a consistent theoretical analysis of optical heterodyne polarization interferometry (OHPI) of originally isotropic media with colinear interacting waves (the pump-probe arrangement) within the framework of third-order nonlinear susceptibility. Our analysis is based on the formalism of Mueller matrices and Stokes vector-parameters. The following generalizations are made: the analysis is carried out for completely polarized pumping radiation with arbitrary polarization and a linearly polarized or completely depolarized probing beam, and the detected OHPI signal is calculated taking into account effects of second order in the excitation light intensity and linear absorption of the interacting beams. 12 refs., 2 figs

[en] There were nine ECE and one EBE presentation at EC-18. Four of the presentations were on various aspects of ECE on ITER. The ITER ECE diagnostic has entered an important detailed preliminary design phase and faces several design challenges in the next 2-3 years. Most of the other ECE presentations at the workshop were focused on applications of ECE diagnostics to plasma measurements, rather than improvements in technology, although it was apparent that heterodyne receiver technology continues to improve. CECE, ECE imaging and EBE imaging are increasingly providing valuable insights into plasma behavior that is important to understand if future burning plasma devices, such as ITER, FNSF and DEMO, are to be successful

[en] Measurement sensitivity is one of the critical indicators for Rydberg atomic radio receivers. This work quantitatively studies the relationship between the atomic superheterodyne receiver's sensitivity and the number of atoms involved in the measurement. The atom number is changed by adjusting the length of the interaction area. The results show that for the ideal case where only interaction noise is present and the RF waves are uniformly distributed, the sensitivity of the atomic superheterodyne receiver exhibits a quantum scaling: the amplitude of its output signal is proportional to the atom number, and the amplitude of its read-out noise is proportional to the square root of the atom number. Hence, its sensitivity is inversely proportional to the square root of the atom number. This work also gives a detailed discussion of the properties of transit noise in atomic receivers and the influence of some non-ideal factors on sensitivity scaling. This work is significant in the field of atom-based quantum precision measurements.

[en] Infrared interferometry promises to be a useful astrometric technique. Preliminary measurements of the star alpha Orionis made with a heterodyne interferometer exhibit phase coherence over a period of at least 1000 seconds. The measurements were equivalent to a positional determination of 60 milliarcsecond accuracy every 5 seconds of integration

[en] Our investigation showed that the stability of the heterodyne interferometer is influenced not only by the thermal drift and long-term stability, but also by the drift of the nonlinearity of heterodyne interferometers. This drift is a particularly important consideration in the interferometer system which has very small thermal drift. With special detection the measurement drift caused by the non-lineary variation can be essentially eliminated. (orig.)

[en] A point contact Josephson junction was investigated as a heterodyne mixer at 337 μm. The conversion efficiency reached about -32 dB using a laser local oscillator and about -42 dB using 9th or 12th harmonic mixing with a klystron

[en] Heterodyne detection with a point-contact Josephson junction has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The measured performance of the device at 36 GHz is in good agreement with the theory. By operating vanadium point contacts at 1.4 K, the authors have achieved a single-sideband (SSB) mixer noise temperature of 54 K with a conversion gain of 1.35 and a signal bandwidth on the order of 1 GHz. A potentially impressive performance for these devices at submillimeter wavelengths can be extrapolated from the results

[en] The balloon-borne instrument TELIS (TErahertz and submillimetre LImb Sounder) is a three-channel superconducting heterodyne spectrometer for atmospheric research use. It detects spectral emission lines of stratospheric trace gases that have their rotational transitions at THz frequencies. One of the channels is based on the superconducting integrated receiver (SIR) technology. We demonstrate for the first time the capabilities of the SIR technology for heterodyne spectroscopy in general, and atmospheric limb sounding in particular. We also show that the application of SIR technology is not limited to laboratory environments, but that it is well suited for remote operation under harsh environmental conditions. Within a SIR the main components needed for a superconducting heterodyne receiver such as a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixer with a quasi-optical antenna, a flux-flow oscillator (FFO) as the local oscillator, and a harmonic mixer to phase lock the FFO are integrated on a single chip. Light weight and low power consumption combined with broadband operation and nearly quantum limited sensitivity make the SIR a perfect candidate for use in future airborne and space-borne missions. The noise temperature of the SIR was measured to be as low as 120 K, with an intermediate frequency band of 4-8 GHz in double-sideband operation. The spectral resolution is well below 1 MHz, confirmed by our measurements. Remote control of the SIR under flight conditions has been demonstrated in a successful balloon flight in Kiruna, Sweden. The sensor and instrument design are presented, as well as the preliminary science results from the first flight.

[en] Published in summary form only