Very long baseline interferometry using a radio telescope in Earth orbit

Successful Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations at 2.3 GHz were made using an antenna aboard an Earth-orbiting spacecraft as one of the receiving telescopes. These observations employed the first deployed satellite (TDRSE-E for East) of the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Fringes were found for 3 radio sources on baselines between TDRSE and telescopes in Australia and Japan. The purpose of this experiment and the characteristics of the spacecraft that are related to the VLBI observations are described. The technical obstacles to maintaining phase coherence between the orbiting antenna and the ground stations, as well as the calibration schemes for the communication link between TDRSE and its ground station at White Sands, New Mexico are explored. System coherence results and scientific results for the radio source observations are presented. Using all available calibrations, a coherence of 84% over 700 seconds was achieved for baselines to the orbiting telescope

Optimization of photomixers and antennas for continuous-wave terahertz emission

We have studied terahertz emission from interdigitated finger photomixers coupled to planar antenna structures. Using both pulsed and continuous-wave excitation, polarization measurements reveal that the antenna design dominates the properties of the radiated output at frequencies below 0.6 THz, while the efficiency at higher frequencies is additionally dependent on the design of the photomixer fingers. We have produced terahertz maps of the device, characterizing the photomixer by measuring the generated power as a function of the excitation position. Together, these measurements have allowed us to understand better the distinct roles of the photomixer and antenna in emission at different fre

Transmittance of a tunable filter at terahertz frequencies

A metallic photonic crystal filter has been demonstrated at terahertz frequencies, with the passband tunable over the range of 365–386 GHz. Tuning is achieved by a relative lateral shift of two metallic photonic crystal plates. Each plate is comprised of two orthogonal layers of gratings and integral mounting lugs. The plates are micromachined from silicon wafers then coated in gold to provide metallic electromagnetic behavior. An insertion loss of 3–7 dB and Q in the range of 20–30 was achieved. A shift of 140 µm gave a tuning range of 21 GHz, tuning sensitivity of 150 GHz/mm, and a fractional tuning range of 6%

Tunneling Between Two-Dimensional Electron Gases in a Strong Magnetic Field

We have measured the tunneling between two two-dimensional electron gases at high magnetic fields $B$, when the carrier densities of the two electron layers are matched. For filling factors $\nu<1$, there is a gap in the current-voltage characteristics centered about $V=0$, followed by a tunneling peak at $\sim 6$~mV. Both features have been observed before and have been attributed to electron-electron interactions within a layer. We have measured high field tunneling peak positions and fitted gap parameters that are proportional to $B$, and independent of the carrier densities of the two layers. This suggests a different origin for the gap to that proposed by current theories, which predict a $\sqrt{B}$ dependence.Comment: 9 pages, cond-mat/yymmnn

Room-Temperature operation of a quantum well mid-infrared detector embedded in nano-antennae array at critical optical coupling

We present the first room temperature photodection of hundreds on nanowatts using a quantum well mid-infrared detector at 9μm, with a background-limited temperature of 82K and a corresponding background-limited specific detectivity of 1.4×1010 cmHz1/2/W. The photonic architecture consists of an array of double metal nano-antennae and allows to reduce the dark current and increase the absorbed electromagnetic field inside the active region, so to prove a high temperature photoresponse

Accurate Parameter Extraction From Liquids Measured Using On-chip Terahertz Spectroscopy

We introduce a method for estimating the permittivity of liquid samples measured using integrated microfluidic/planar Goubau line terahertz waveguides, in which simulation results are incorporated with measurement data to enable accurate frequency-dependent analysis

On-chip Terahertz Spectroscopy of Liquid Mixtures

We demonstrate 'through-substrate' sensing of fluids for application in the terahertz spectroscopy of biological materials. This technique employs planar Goubau lines with integrated photoconductive material, formed on a flexible, thin polyimide substrate, and bonded to a microfluidic channel. Few-picosecond pulses are used to probe liquid samples confined within the channel, over a total interaction length of 4 mm, overcoming water-absorption limitations of free-space terahertz transmission measurements

Spatially Resolved On-Chip Picosecond Pulse Detection Using Graphene

We present an on-chip time domain terahertz (TD-THz) system in which picosecond pulses are generated in low-temperature-grown gallium arsenide (LT-GaAs) and detected in graphene. The detected pulses were found to vary in amplitude, full width at half maximum (FWHM), and DC offset when sampled optically at different locations along a 50-μm-long graphene photoconductive (PC) detector. The results demonstrate the importance of detection location and switch design in graphene-based on-chip PC detectors

Superluminal Expansion of 3C 273

Figure 1 shows hybrid maps of the core of 3C 273B at five epochs, made with arrays of 4 or 5 VLBI antennas. The maps span a period of 3.5 years. They all show a bright eastern peak and a lower-brightness extension to the west. There is a local maximum in the western extension between 6 and 8 milliarcsec from the main peak. This “blob” moves steadily further away from the main peak along a roughly straight line in PA −116° ± 2°. Compare this with the position angle of the 25-arcsec optical jet, −137°. The maps show a slight curvature to the south with increasing separation from the main peak. Lower-resolution VLBI maps at lower frequencies show that this curvature continues at greater separations, suggesting a smooth connection between the milli-arcsecond position angle and the position angle of the optical jet. In our latest map (1981.09) the blob is no longer detectable with the limited dynamic range of the VLBI network (about 20:1)