Advanced Waveguide Components and Technology for 2SB dual polarization receiver cartridges

The ALMA WSU strives for ``increase of the receiver IF bandwidth by at least a factor of two", as well an improvement of the beam squint performance of some existing cartridges in order to keep ALMA at the forefront of astrophysical facilities and to address three new fundamental science drivers: the origin of galaxies, the origins of chemical complexity and the origin of planets Aiming the two abovementioned challenges, an ESO study exploring advanced waveguide components and technologies for 2SB dual polarization receiver cartridges started in Dec 2023. The study focuses on the development of micro machined waveguide technology and its possible implementation in the form of form of low loss OMTs for band 7 and Band 9, which currently employs polarization splitting using grids. The developed technology employs photolithographically defined components exhibiting ultimate in linear dimension and superior surface accuracy enabling potentially large structure still with low loss. Additionally, the waveguide technology developed also enabled drop-in waveguide matched loads for the frequencies of B7 and B9 that will provide compact and reliable solution for use in respective 2SB mixers. At the workshop we will present the initial results and prospective of this collaborative study run between NOVA and GARD.