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

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is in improving and simplifying weather observations from various platforms, such as an unmanned aircraft, small satellites in orbit, a buoy in the middle of the ocean or from the ground, even in a remote location. The targeted customer for the radiometer receiver is anyone who desires a more detailed, localized, short term forecast. Such customers include meteorological organizations, both private and governmental, operators of renewable energy plants ? onshore and offshore wind farms or solar power plants, future unmanned or robotic aircrafts that observe the atmosphere, military, and others. Sensors built with these receivers can also contribute to remote detection of in-flight icing danger in general aviation. Our sensor will simplify observations from small aircraft, piloted or unmanned, thus allowing new observations of clouds, their water or ice content, and the local thermodynamic status of the atmosphere. Such observations will thus improve scientific understanding of clouds and their representation in climate and Earth system models. More broadly, this project represents a new technological concept of sub terahertz receiver design and assembly. Users of sub terahertz receivers include airport security (body scanners), short range high bit rate communications, industrial testing of paper, polymer, food, pharmaceutical and agriculture, and medical imaging. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes the development of a novel, highly integrated, low power consuming, radiometer receiver operating around 183.31 GHz, in the vicinity of a water vapor absorption line. The receiver architecture was chosen to improve radiometer sensitivity, calibration accuracy, and reliability, while keeping its weight, size, and power consumption low. The goal of the effort is to develop a sensor that would enable wide spread weather observations. The receiver would be relatively easy to assemble, repair and its production cost would be low, especially for large quantities. The Phase I project is focused on a feasibility study of the receiver design. The major receiver components will be designed and their performance modelled. The anticipated result is a preliminary design of the whole receiver and characterization of its operational parameters.