A MICROWAVE NETWORK ANALYZER FOR SIS MIXER RESEARCH

THE SIS MIXER IS THE DEVICE WHICH SHOWS THE GREATEST PROMISEFOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF VERY SENSITIVE RECEIVERS IN THE MILLIMETER AND SUBMILLIMETER WAVELENGTH REGION. SUCH RECEIVERS ARE IMPORTANT FOR RADIO ASTRONOMY AND EARTH AND PLANETARY ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH. SEVERAL IMPORTANT PARAMETERS OF SIS MIXERS HAVE NEVER BEEN MEASURED BECAUSE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE MICROWAVE NETWORK ANALYZERS USE TEST SIGNALS WITH POWER LEVELS SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TO SATURATE OR DESTROY THE SIS DEVICES. THE PROPOSED SBIR RESEARCH WOULD ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF CONSTRUCTING A NETWORK ANALYZER WITH A TEST SIGNAL POWER LEVEL APPROPRIATE FOR SIS MIXER CHARACTERIZATION. SUCH AN INSTRUMENT WOULD LEAD TO IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN SIS RECEIVER DESIGNS.