Solid-State Diode Technology for Millimeter and Submillimeter-Wave Remote Sensing Applications: Current Status and Future Trends

Atmospheric data collected through spaceborne millimeter (mm) and submillimeter-wave (sub-mm-wave) radiometry combined with complex numerical weather prediction models allow meteorological offices around the world to deliver accurate weather forecasting services of great socioeconomic value. Additionally, the same radiometric technology is pivotal to other applications that include but are not limited to the study of the upper atmosphere of Earth, the understanding of the effects of climate change, and the study of the atmosphere and geological surface of other planets in the solar system. Table 1 shows some examples of remote sensing instruments where there is a demand for mm-wave, sub-mm-wave, and supra-THz radiometers and whose scientific success is underpinned, in great part, by the performance of the fundamental building blocks that form the instruments.