Performance Measurements of 8-Gsps 1-bit ADCs Developed for Wideband Radio Astronomical Observations

TL;DR

This paper reports on the development and performance evaluation of 8-Gsps 1-bit ADCs designed for wideband radio astronomical observations, demonstrating their stability and frequency response suitable for interferometric applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new high-speed 8-Gsps 1-bit ADC design and provides comprehensive performance measurements relevant for wideband radio astronomy.

Findings

Jitter time less than 0.05 psec at 1 sec interval

Passband frequency response slope under 0.73 dB/GHz

Aperture time less than 20 psec

Abstract

8-Gsps 1-bit Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) were newly developed toward the realization of the wideband observation. The development of the wideband ADCs is one of the most essential developments for the radio interferometer. To evaluate its performance in interferometric observations, the time (phase) stability and frequency response were measured with a noise source and a signal generator. The results of these measurements show that the developed ADCs can achieve the jitter time less than 0.05 psec at the time interval of 1 sec, the passband frequency response with the slope less than 0.73 dB/GHz and the ripple less than 1.8 dB, and the aperture time less than 20 psec. The details of the developed ADC design, the measurement methods, and the results of these measurements are presented in this paper.