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    Dual-Band Transmitter and Receiver With Bowtie-Antenna in 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS for Gas Spectroscopy at 222 - 270 GHz
    (New York, NY : IEEE, 2021) Schmalz, Klaus; Rothbart, Nick; Gluck, Alexandra; Eissa, Mohamed Hussein; Mausolf, Thomas; Turkmen, Esref; Yilmaz, Selahattin Berk; Hubers, Heinz-Wilhelm
    This paper presents a transmitter (TX) and a receiver (RX) with bowtie-antenna and silicon lens for gas spectroscopy at 222-270 GHz, which are fabricated in IHP's 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The TX and RX use two integrated local oscillators for 222 - 256 GHz and 250 - 270 GHz, which are switched for dual-band operation. Due to its directivity of about 27 dBi, the single integrated bowtie-antenna with silicon lens enables an EIRP of about 25 dBm for the TX, and therefore a considerably higher EIRP for the 2-band TX compared to previously reported systems. The double sideband noise temperature of the RX is 20,000 K (18.5 dB noise figure) as measured by the Y-factor method. Absorption spectroscopy of gaseous methanol is used as a measure for the performance of the gas spectroscopy system with TX- and RX-modules.
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    Interpretation of Radio Wave Scintillation Observed through LOFAR Radio Telescopes
    (London : Institute of Physics Publ., 2022) Forte, Biagio; Fallows, Richard A.; Bisi, Mario M.; Zhang, Jinge; Krankowski, Andrzej; Dabrowski, Bartosz; Rothkaehl, Hanna; Vocks, Christian
    Radio waves propagating through a medium containing irregularities in the spatial distribution of the electron density develop fluctuations in their intensities and phases. In the case of radio waves emitted from astronomical objects, they propagate through electron density irregularities in the interstellar medium, the interplanetary medium, and Earth’s ionosphere. The LOFAR radio telescope, with stations across Europe, can measure intensity across the VHF radio band and thus intensity scintillation on the signals received from compact astronomical objects. Modeling intensity scintillation allows the estimate of various parameters of the propagation medium, for example, its drift velocity and its turbulent power spectrum. However, these estimates are based on the assumptions of ergodicity of the observed intensity fluctuations and, typically, of weak scattering. A case study of single-station LOFAR observations of the strong astronomical source Cassiopeia A in the VHF range is utilized to illustrate deviations from ergodicity, as well as the presence of both weak and strong scattering. Here it is demonstrated how these aspects can lead to misleading estimates of the propagation medium properties, for example, in the solar wind. This analysis provides a method to model errors in these estimates, which can be used in the characterization of both the interplanetary medium and Earth’s ionosphere. Although the discussion is limited to the case of the interplanetary medium and Earth’s ionosphere, its ideas are also applicable to the case of the interstellar medium.