A compact front-end system is presented for a dual-linear polarization cryogenic Q-band receiver. This receiver will be used to demonstrate the high frequency performance of the Dish Verification Antenna 2 (DVA-2) composite reflector telescope between 35–50 GHz and is a technology demonstrator with possible application to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA). A vacuum vessel and a two-stage Gifford-McMahon cryopump system are used for the cryogenic environment. The second stage of the cryostat is cooled to 16 K and includes a small choke ring feed horn, a low-loss noise calibration module (NCM) integrated with orthogonal mode transducer (OMT), and two cryogenically cooled mHEMT MMIC low-noise amplifiers (LNAs). Using a noise diode as the noise source on the 300 K stage inside the cryostat helps to protect the cooled components from signals outside of the cryostat, and also lessen the heat on the second stage since a noise diode normally produce a power dissipation of several hundred mW. The OMT design is an optimized version of the design used in the ALMA Band 1 cartridge with two integrated directional couplers and excellent performance. The cascaded noise analysis of the receiver shows a receiver noise temperature of 19.4 K.
The Support Structure for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Infrared Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) consists of 18 carbonfiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) struts, a CFRP ring and a metal interface frame. This ultra-stiff, lightweight structure suspends the five-ton IRIS Science Cryostat and Rotator below the Narrow Field Infrared Adaptive Optics System (NFIRAOS). Through comprehensive design and analysis driven by requirements for stiffness, optical alignment, adjustability, manufacturability, weight and space, much headway was made to bring this design to fruition. This work presents the current state of design, including material down-selection, adjuster design and strategies for fabrication, alignment and testing. It summarizes methodologies and simulation results examining stiffness, seismic and thermal loads and transmission of vibration between NFIRAOS and IRIS. A prototype strut is being developed and will undergo dynamic mechanical testing to characterize its performance.
The National Research Council Canada Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre (NRC/HAA) is one of a few astrophysics research centers in the world that embodies science, technology development, and data archiving and analysis across ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and radio wavelengths. Our research centre is involved in both short and long term instrumentation and observatory development projects. We conduct significant strategic R&D in-house and also in collaboration with external organizations. In order to guide our future research and development, we have implemented roadmaps that connect Canadian science strategic directions to current and future observing capabilities, and that identify needed technology development to achieve our goals. In this paper we present the process of developing these roadmaps, and describe the science and technology directions that we are pursuing as a result of this strategic planning.
The Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) project to replace the VLA telescope in New Mexico continues to move forward. Concept designs for 15m, 18m, and 6m offset Gregorian antennas based on the Single-piece Rim-supported Composite (SRC) reflector concept have been developed at NRC, the 18m and 6m designs became part of the ngVLA System Reference Design (SRD). The Reference Design array is composed of a main array of 244 x 18m antennas and a short baseline array of 19 x 6m antennas. In the initial design iteration of the 6m antenna, as used in the SRD, was essentially a scaled down version 18m. This design exercise provided a costed concept appropriate for the SRD but did not meet one critical requirement; the ability to close pack the antennas. Following the release of the SRD the team at NRC took a clean piece of paper approach to the 6m antenna design driven by the close packing requirement. This paper will presents the design path from the ngVLA SRD to the latest design.
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