The telescope was combined with the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory next to it, to form the first submillimetre interferometer.
In 2008 and 2009 the intensities of its water vapor spectral lines were measured using the millimeter wave spectrometer Z-Spec at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory.
It is the first purpose-built submillimeter interferometer, constructed after successful interferometry experiments using the pre-existing James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and Caltech Submillimeter Observatory as an interferometer.
The Earth's atmosphere is opaque over most of the far-infrared, so that ground-based observations are limited to submillimetre wavelengths using high-altitude telescopes such as the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, and the Submillimeter Array.