Design and development of a microwave radiometer technology laboratory

A 4.3 GHz microwave radiometer has been developed for the NASA Langley radiometer technology laboratory. Measurements of avalanche noise diode stabilities, low noise amplifiers noise and gain stabilities, and passive microwave component stabilities such as PIN diode switches, circulator switches, RF filters, etc. are planned in the near future. The goals of this development to achieve accuracies of 0.1 K and radiometric sensitivities of 10 /spl mu/K should be achieved in the near future. Technology transfer of microwave radiometer stability data to enhance the use of both real and synthetic aperture radiometers for passive microwave remote sensing is planned through the use of memorandum of agreements (MOAs) between NASA-Langley and private industry. Discussions are underway with several companies interested in data from this laboratory.<>