Recent Developments in Measuring Signal and Noise in Phased Array Feeds at CSIRO

TL;DR

This paper discusses recent techniques for measuring signal and noise in phased array feeds for radio astronomy, including aperture array noise measurements, weight calculations, and system parameter separation.

Contribution

It introduces new measurement methods and techniques for accurately characterizing phased array feeds, enhancing radio astronomy instrumentation.

Findings

Effective aperture array noise measurement techniques developed

Beamforming weights calculated through antenna-range and in-reflector measurements

Separation of system temperature and aperture efficiency achieved via drift scans

Abstract

We describe recent developments in measuring both signal and noise in phased array feeds for radio astronomy at CSIRO. We introduce new techniques including aperture array noise measurements with beamforming weights matched to a reflector's focal field. Weights are calculated via antenna-range and in-reflector measurements. We also describe the separation of system temperature and aperture efficiency via drift scans.