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The QCL source addresses the challenges of inefficiency, high power consumption, and bulky designs typically associated with existing solutions. It is fabricated with 80 to 100 alternating layers of semiconductor materials, each layer only a few microns thick. These layers create a cascade effect that amplifies terahertz-energy photon generation while consuming significantly less voltage. To mitigate the natural beam dissipation of QCLs, the source is integrated with a waveguide and thin optical antenna, reducing signal loss by 50%. Additionally, the waveguide employs a flared design with a diagonal feed horn, achieving high modal confinement and increasing beam coupling efficiency to 82%, compared to 37% in conventional setups. This compact design, smaller than a U.S. quarter, fits within payload constraints and enables high-powered terahertz beams for precise spectroscopic measurements. The terahertz transceiver enhances measurement precision by integrating two back-to-back hybrid couplers and Schottky diodes as detectors, providing a 35 dB dynamic range. Operating in the 2.0–3.2 THz frequency range, the transceiver is optimized for versatility across astrophysics, heliophysics, and planetary science applications. It seamlessly couples the QCL-generated signal onto the waveguide, ensuring stable and accurate spectroscopic data collection. This compact and energy-efficient transceiver delivers exceptional sensitivity, enabling it to analyze planetary materials, atmospheric components, and interstellar phenomena with unmatched resolution. With its compact, tunable design and high spectral resolution, the QCL source and transceiver represents a significant advancement for remote sensing and planetary surface characterization, offering a versatile solution for both NASA and commercial applications. The QCL system is at technology readiness level (TRL) 4 (component and/or breadboard validation in lab) and is available for patent licensing.

This NASA invention is a highly compact and sensitive 530-600 GHz, 1x8 receiver array employing a multi-pixel approach to enhance simultaneous detection capabilities. The receiver has a conversion loss of <11dB, noise temperature of less than 2000 K at 540 GHz, and a wide IF bandwidth of ~70 GHz. The system reduces size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP) by 3-4x and increases sensitivity by factor of 2x or more relative to current state-of-the-art cascaded systems. The invention includes a power splitter circuit with an attenuation card, a mixer circuit coupled to an output of the power splitter circuit, and an antenna assembly coupled to an output of the mixer circuit. The splitter is a four-port waveguide designed with high position tolerance, and the waveguide attenuator provides a better than 20dB attenuator and balances the power split. A compact and high-efficiency Tripler circuit is integrated into the array system, that multiplies input frequency by a factor of 3. The system includes a sensitive, broadband sub-harmonic mixer circuit for 530-600 GHz frequency band operation (enabling the simultaneous detection of more than fourteen molecular species in this range e.g., water, deuterium oxide, oxygen, etc.) and integrated diagonal horn antennas to provide 24 dB gain with 9mm antenna spacing. Note that while originally designed for the 530-600 GHz band for remote sensing purposes, the design topology of the receiver can be easily scaled to support frequencies ranging from 1 GHz to > 1 THz and the center frequency can be tuned by adjusting design parameters. While NASA originally developed this receiver to enable miniaturized, low power consumption, high sensitivity heterodyne-based submillimeter wave spectrometers for small satellite-based planetary atmospheric sensing, potential applications of the novel receiver are broad. The multi-pixel, wideband receiver can be used in spectrometer and radar systems for applications including astronomy, plasma fusion, military, and emerging communication technologies such as 5G and 6G. The invention is available for patent licensing.