CMOS-Based Millimeter-Wave Spectrometer for in-situ Sensing Applications

Gas sensors that operate in the millimeter region of the electromagnetic spectrum represent a promising class of in situ instrumentation having numerous planetary science applications. These sensor platforms offer several unique capabilities including measurements over wide dynamic pressure ranges, fast acquisition speeds, and high selectivity to molecular species. Several technologies developed under the PICASSO program have allowed for significant reduction in the size and power consumption of these platforms without making sacrifices in system sensitivities. A specific set of key components include intrinsically small and low power consumption CMOS-embedded millimeter-wave pulsed transmitter and heterodyne receiver integrated circuit chips. These custom sources/detectors are interfaced directly to a resonant sample cavity that is used to passively enhance molecular emission signals while also optimizing system geometry. This proposal will build off previous work which resulted in TRL4 demonstrations of a dual-band (80-90 GHz and 180-190 GHz) printed circuit board-based system. These frequency bands are well suited for observation of C, H, N, O, and S containing volatile molecules, including their isotopic content, in complex mixtures without pre-separation. This effort aims to mature this technology to TRL6 with a flight-like full instrument prototype having size, weight, and power metrics of approximately 1 U, 1 kg, and less than 10 W. A critical element in need of development is a custom backend signal processor capable of analog to digital conversion, real time block signal averaging, and fast Fourier transform. This sub-system will allow for full utilization the fast (100 kHz) instrumental duty cycle which will both increase spectrometer sensitivity from signal averaging and allow for observation of transient events (e.g., plumes, environmental outgassing). Several full system, flight-like prototypes will be constructed as part of the proposed work plan. A subset of these spectrometers will undergo a suite of environmental (vibration/radiation) and thermal vacuum testing for maturation purposes. In parallel a mm-wave in situ sensor unit will be sent to the University of Wisconsin Madison for interfacing with the Sublimation of Laboratory Ices Millimeter/Submillimeter Experiment (SubLIME). This custom apparatus is specifically designed for the study of astronomically-relevant ices over a range of temperatures, pressures, and UV radiation fluxes that simulate a variety of planetary science environments. These combined results aim to demonstrate system maturation to TRL6 and the ability to make quantitative measurements of sublimed ice samples under conditions relevant to Decadal Survey initiatives.

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