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The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report

Theoretical comparison of maser materials for a 32-GHz maser amplifier

J. R. Lyons

Published Nov 15, 1988• 2 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The computational results of a comparison of maser materials for a 32 GHz maser amplifier are presented. The search for a better maser material is prompted by the relatively large amount of pump power required to sustain a population inversion in ruby at frequencies on the order of 30 GHz and above. The general requirements of a maser material and the specific problems with ruby are outlined. The spin Hamiltonian is used to calculate energy levels and transition probabilities for ruby and twelve other materials. A table is compiled of several attractive operating points for each of the materials analyzed. All the materials analyzed possess operating points that could be superior to ruby. To complete the evaluation of the materials, measurements of inversion ratio and pump power requirements must be made in the future.

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Reports on Progress in Physics•Jan 1, 1964•11 citations
The computational results of a comparison of maser materials for a 32 GHz maser amplifier are presented. The search for a better maser material is prompted by the relatively large amount of pump power required to sustain a population inversion in ruby at frequencies on the order of 30 GHz and above. The general requirements of a maser material and the specific problems with ruby are outlined. The spin Hamiltonian is used to calculate energy levels and transition probabilities for ruby and twelve other materials. A table is compiled of several attractive operating points for each of the materials analyzed. All the materials analyzed possess operating points that could be superior to ruby. To complete the evaluation of the materials, measurements of inversion ratio and pump power requirements must be made in the future.
The use of a quantitative analysis of the dominant source of relaxation in ruby spin systems to make predictions of key maser amplifier parameters is described. The spin-lattice Hamiltonian which describes the interaction of the electron spins with the thermal vibrations of the surrounding lattice is obtained from the literature. Taking into account the vibrational anisotropy of ruby, Fermi's rule is used to calculate the spin transition rates between the maser energy levels. The spin population rate equations are solved for the spin transition relaxation times, and a comparison with previous calculations is made. Predictions of ruby gain, inversion ratio, and noise temperature as a function of physical temperature are made for 8.4-GHz and 32-GHz maser pumping schemes. The theory predicts that ruby oriented at 90 deg will have approximately 50 percent higher gain in dB and slightly lower noise temperature than a 54.7-deg ruby at 32 GHz (assuming pump saturation). A specific calculation relating pump power to inversion ratio is given for a single channel of the 32-GHz reflected wave maser.
A three-level solid-state maser using ruby has been operated at frequencies near 3000 Mc/s, using a high-efficiency cavity having TEM modes in a rectangular geometry. Two different operating points in the θ = 10° to θ =30 ° region of the ruby spectrum gave maser operation with a pump frequency near 10 500 Mc/s, although the inversion obtained was a. sensitive function of the exact operating point. An operating point at θ = 90°, requiring pumping at 13 500 Mc/s, gave a gain-bandwidth product of better than 50 Mc/s. It was also found possible to pump the 1-4 or ΔM = 3 transition at this same operating point, obtaining 3000 Mc/s amplification with a 23 700 Mc/s pump frequency. Although this mode of operation was not fully explored, it is potentially capable of increasing the gain-bandwidth product by a substantial amount.
Methods using harmonic spin coupling for operating solid-state masers with signal frequencies higher than the pump frequency are discussed. Expressions for the population inversion ratios are presented, and the maximum signal-to-pump-frequency ratios are calculated. Experimental data is presented on a ruby maser which is operated using the symmetrical method. Amplification was obtained at signal frequencies from 10,320 to 10,740 Mc, using pump frequencies ranging from 9580 to 9670 Mc. An experiment in which maser operation is obtained simultaneously at two frequencies is described.
The subject of masers is introduced by giving an historical account of events which led to the amplification of microwave radiation by an inverted population in a system of weakly interacting ammonia molecules. The introduction also outlines the development of masers up to the present. Sections 2 and 3 are concerned with maser fundamentals. Methods for obtaining inverted populations are discussed in § 2. Section 3 is devoted to the theory of maser gain and noise. This is followed by a discussion of microwave solid state masers. Microwave maser materials and the development of unidirectional travelling wave maser amplifiers are emphasized. Optical masers are treated in § 5. In this section the theory of optical amplifiers and oscillators is outlined. Also included in the theoretical discussion is a rather lengthy consideration of pump power requirements in optically pumped masers. This is followed by a survey of solid state, semiconductor and gaseous optical masers. The review ends with some comments on the extension of masers to new wavelength regions.