Design of an IF section for C band polarimetry

TL;DR

This paper presents the design and development of a 5GHz super heterodyne polarimeter receiver for galactic foreground characterization in C band polarimetry, including design choices, simulations, and prototype results.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 5GHz polarimeter receiver with high gain IF chain and digital correlator, detailing design options, constraints, and experimental validation.

Findings

Successful prototype implementation with experimental results

Effective high gain IF chain at 600MHz using latest RF technology

Design options and constraints informed by simulations and experiments

Abstract

In the context of the Galactic Emission Mapping, a new receiver at 5GHz was developed to characterize the galactic foreground to the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation. This is a 5GHz super heterodyne polarimeter with double down conversion, with a high gain IF chain using the latest RF technology working at 600MHz central frequency that feeds a four channel digital correlator. This paper describes the receiver and its current status. Design options and constraints are presented with some simulations and experimental results of a circuit prototype.