Jul 20 2007
TeraXion Inc. , a technology leader in performance-defining OEM products for the generation and conditioning of lightwave signals in mission-critical applications of Defense & Aerospace, Telecom and Industrial markets, announced that it received a major contract to supply highly specialized photonic local oscillator systems to the NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) & ALMA Partnership.
The US 2.7M$ contract will enable system-ready hardware to be deployed in early 2008.
The ALMA Partnership is a global partnership in Astronomy to deliver a truly transformational instrument, one of the best ever built in the history of mankind. Located on the Chajnantor plain of the Chilean Andes at 5100 m (16500 feet) above sea level with up to 64 twelve (12)-meter antennas, deployed on 700 km2, ALMA will be operated as a single observatory with scientific access via regional centers. The key science goals include, imaging protoplanatery disks to study their physical, chemical and magnetic-field structures and detecting tidal gaps created by planets undergoing formation in the disks. It also includes imaging starburst galaxies and imaging normal galaxies. Early science will start in 2010 once ALMA has commissioned 16 antennas and full operation will begin at the end of 2012.
ALMA will provide astronomers with the world's most advanced tool for exploring the Universe at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. TeraXion will work with all the partners to build a truly revolutionary astronomical tool. TeraXion's prototype hardware has been running for three years at the NRAO Soccoro in New Mexico test site. “TeraXion's technology has brought leading-edge performance and enable significant risk mitigation to the whole Photonic Local Oscillator System” said Adrian Russel, North American ALMA Project Manager . “The ALMA project clearly benefits from TeraXion's ability to transform forefront technology into reliable deployed systems” said Ghislain Lafrance, TeraXion's Vice-President, Defense and Aerospace .
This phase of the multi-stage project has TeraXion delivering sub-systems for the Photonic Local Oscillator Distribution and consists in the final engineering and fabrication of Master Laser units. The ALMA Master Laser forms part of the Back End Photonic Local Oscillator subsystem that is used to synchronize the signal processing at all antennas of the ALMA radio-telescope. The Master Laser provides a fixed, highly coherent, and ultra-stable lightwave reference. This laser therefore needs to display exceptionally low noise characteristics, in addition to meeting stringent reliability requirements. This blend of performance and reliability is unique to TeraXion's laser frequency control platform.
TeraXion will also design and build a Local Oscillator Reference Test Module (LORTM). The LORTM is a highly specialized test unit providing a Photonic Local Oscillator Reference signal used to phase-lock the 1st LO Reference of the receivers installed in a Front End Test Fixture as well as providing a phase-coherent reference test signal to be injected into the Front End RF input port.
http://www.teraxion.com/