SBIR Phase II: Development of a radiometric receiver for 183 GHz.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is in the improvement of atmospheric state observations from various platforms. This compact, integrated and ?plug and play? receiver design will make the existing observations more available, more economical, and will also enable previously unattainable observations of water vapor distributions within the atmosphere. This environmental sensor?s small size and low power requirements enables its deployment on various airborne, spaceborne or ground-based platforms, such as unmanned aerial aircraft, nanosatellites, ocean buoys, and remotely located ground-based instruments. One promising commercial application is private weather observing satellite constellations. It has been estimated that around 400 remote sensing nano/microsatellites will be launched worldwide between the years of 2016-2018. Water vapor and cloud observations are among the most important observations promising further understanding of weather events and to better synoptic or mesoscale forecasts. Improved atmospheric observations are directly related to increasingly accurate and useful weather forecasts. The benefits are expected to extend widely across the economy. Meteorologists point to more accurate and rapidly refreshed atmospheric observations as one of the necessities for the continuous improvements in weather forecasting, understanding of the atmospheric physics and climate. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 project will complete the design and build a fully functional prototype of a very compact, direct detection radiometer receiver, operating in the vicinity of the 183 GHz water vapor absorption line. All the receiver components will be designed and evaluated, including a noise source, detectors, filters, Monolithic Microwave Integrated circuits and others, first as individual parts and then within the assembly. A novel receiver architecture and integration of all components into one assembly allow for a drastic reduction in the receiver size and reduction of its power consumption, while improving its observational capabilities and stability. There are several aspects of the proposed effort that are unique and would provide profound advances in ultra-compact microwave radiometry. The receiver is expected to consume less than 0.5 Watt of power and weigh around 100 grams, with a continuous two-point calibration capability at its input.