Design, development and verification of the 30 and 44 GHz front-end modules for the Planck Low Frequency Instrument

Abstract

We give a description of the design, construction and testing of the 30 and 44 GHz Front End Modules (FEMs) for the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) of the Planck mission to be launched in 2009. The scientific requirements of the mission determine the performance parameters to be met by the FEMs, including their linear polarization characteristics. The FEM design is that of a differential pseudo-correlation radiometer in which the signal from the sky is compared with a 4-K blackbody load. The Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) at the heart of the FEM is based on indium phosphide High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs). The radiometer incorporates a novel phase-switch design which gives excellent amplitude and phase match across the band. The noise temperature requirements are met within the measurement errors at the two frequencies. For the most sensitive LNAs, the noise temperature at the band centre is 3 and 5 times the quantum limit at 30 and 44 GHz respectively. For some of the FEMs, the noise temperature is still falling as the ambient temperature is reduced to 20 K. Stability tests of the FEMs, including a measurement of the 1/f knee frequency, also meet mission requirements. The 30 and 44 GHz FEMs have met or bettered the mission requirements in all critical aspects. The most sensitive LNAs have reached new limits of noise temperature for HEMTs at their band centres. The FEMs have well-defined linear polarization characteristcs.

39 pages, 33 figures (33 EPS files), 12 tables. Planck LFI technical papers published by JINST: http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.proc5/1748-0221

References in corpus (27)

• First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Foreground Emission
• Three-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Temperature Analysis
• Detection of Polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background using DASI
• Electric Dipole Radiation from Spinning Dust Grains
• High Resolution Observations of the CMB Power Spectrum with ACBAR
• Extended Mosaic Observations with the Cosmic Background Imager
• A Measurement of the Angular Power Spectrum of the CMB Temperature Anisotropy from the 2003 Flight of Boomerang
• Towards a free-free template for CMB foregrounds
• High sensitivity measurements of the CMB power spectrum with the extended Very Small Array
• Planck pre-launch status: Design and description of the Low Frequency Instrument
• Three-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Beam Profiles, Data Processing, Radiometer Characterization and Systematic Error Limits
• A determination of the Spectra of Galactic components observed by WMAP
• Design, Implementation and Testing of the MAP Radiometers
• Planck pre-launch status: the Planck-LFI programme
• Cross-correlation of Tenerife data with Galactic templates - evidence for spinning dust?
• 1/f noise and other systematic effects in the Planck-LFI radiometers
• Reappraising foreground contamination in the COBE-DMR data
• Removing 1/f noise stripes in cosmic microwave background anisotropy observations
• Offset balancing in pseudo-correlation radiometers for CMB measurements
• Cryogenic characterization of the Planck sorption cooler system flight model
• Archeops In-flight Performance, Data Processing and Map Making
• Noise Properties of the Planck-LFI Receivers
• Design, development, and verification of the Planck Low Frequency Instrument 70 GHz Front-End and Back-End Modules
• The linearity response of the Planck-LFI flight model receivers
• LFI 30 and 44 GHz receivers Back-End Modules
• Planck LFI flight model feed horns
• Advanced pseudo-correlation radiometers for the Planck-LFI instrument

Cited by in corpus (16)

• Planck early results: first assessment of the High Frequency Instrument in-flight performance
• Planck pre-launch status: Design and description of the Low Frequency Instrument
• Planck early results. III. First assessment of the Low Frequency Instrument in-flight performance
• Planck pre-launch status: the Planck-LFI programme
• Planck pre-launch status: Low Frequency Instrument calibration and expected scientific performance
• The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS): Design and implementation of the northern receiver
• Planck-LFI radiometers' spectral response
• Noise Properties of the Planck-LFI Receivers
• LFI 30 and 44 GHz receivers Back-End Modules
• Planck pre-launch status: calibration of the Low Frequency Instrument flight model radiometers
• Planck-LFI radiometers tuning
• The Planck-LFI flight model composite waveguides
• In-flight calibration and verification of the Planck-LFI instrument
• Cryogenic environment and performance for testing the Planck radiometers
• Modeling the frequency response of microwave radiometers with QUCS
• A Cryogenic Ultra-Low-Noise MMIC-based LNA with a discrete First Stage Transistor Suitable for Radio Astronomy Applications