A new generation of SIS receivers for millimeter-wave radio astronomy

A new generation of low-noise, dual-polarization heterodyne receivers covering all atmospheric windows between 68 and 300 GHz has been developed for the 12-m telescope on Kitt Peak, AZ, operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). A modular approach to the receiver construction has been used. Each receiver channel is constructed as a self-contained insert which is mounted in a dewar equipped with a closed-cycle 4 K refrigerator capable of cooling up to eight inserts, thereby enabling several frequency bands to be contained within one dewar. The telescope and receiver optics are so arranged that switching between frequency bands may be accomplished rapidly by rotating the optical elements placed in the signal path. Single-sideband noise temperatures ranging from 50 to 400 K are obtained across the frequency range