Effects of the Number of Active Receiver Channels on the Sensitivity of a Reflector Antenna System with a Multi-Beam Wideband Phased Array Feed

TL;DR

This paper presents a modeling method to analyze how the number of active receiver channels impacts the sensitivity of a reflector antenna system with a multi-beam wideband phased array feed, using the APERTIF design as a case study.

Contribution

It introduces an accurate modeling approach to evaluate the influence of active antenna elements on system sensitivity, specifically applied to the APERTIF design.

Findings

Increased active channels improve sensitivity.

Modeling results guide optimal channel configuration.

Application to APERTIF demonstrates practical relevance.

Abstract

A method for accurate modeling of a reflector antenna system with a wideband phased array feed is presented and used to study the effects of the number of active antenna elements and associated receiving channels on the receiving sensitivity of the antenna system. Numerical results are shown for a practical design named APERTIF that is currently under developed at The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON).