RF and Electronics Design of the Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer

The Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR) was developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a proof of concept technology demonstration mission for the Air Force. COWVR is a fully polarimetric imaging radiometer system operating at 18.7, 23.8, and 33.9 GHz . Its receiver subsystem is based on the Jason-3 advanced microwave radiometer, which was launched in early 2016 and is currently in operation. Its enabling components are presented in this article, including the phase-matched waveguide components, noise injection, receivers, and polarimetric backend units.