Sideband separating mixer for 600-720 GHz for ALMA band 9 upgrade

For high-frequency observational bands like ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) Band 9 (600—720 GHz), which tend to be dominated by atmospheric noise, implementation of sideband-separating mixers can reduce, up to a factor of two, the integration time needed to reach a certain signal-to-noise ratio for spectral line observations. Because of very high oversubscription factor for observation in ALMA Band 9, an upgrade of the current Double Sideband (DSB) mixer to a Two Sideband (2SB) configuration is a promising option for future ALMA development. Here we present a developed 2SB mixer and a modified cartridge design. The 2SB mixer includes a waveguide RF hybrid block, which have been produced on a micro-milling machine and equipped with standard Band 9 SIS mixer devices. These two SIS mixers have been separately tested in DSB mode. The SSB noise temperature is within the ALMA requirements of 336 K over 80% of the band, and 500 K over the entire band. The 2SB mixer has the sideband rejection ratio better than 12 dB over the full