Report of the heterodyne submillimeter-wave sensors panel

After reviewing the science goals of the Astrotech 21 mission set, and comparing the resulting receiver performance requirements with existing technology, the panel determined that there were significant unmet requirements in four areas: local oscillator power and mixer sensitivity in the Tera-Hz regime, infrared spectrometer channel count, and array technology in any form. A comprehensive development plan has been prepared to provide these capabilities in the time frame needed before technology freeze dates of the respective missions. It was also noted that development of these capabilities has immense payoff for future astrophysics missions, as it opens entire new areas of spectroscopy and imaging in the critical submillimeter wave regime rich in molecular transitions.