Modeling and optimization of the antenna system with focal plane array for the new generation radio telescopes with wide field of view

TL;DR

This paper develops a model for a reflector antenna system with focal plane array and beamformer, aiming to optimize sensitivity and reduce ripple for next-generation wide-field radio telescopes, validated through simulations and experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a new beamformer strategy to improve sensitivity uniformity in wide-field radio telescope systems, with validation on the APERTIF system.

Findings

Beamformer strategy reduces sensitivity ripple within the field of view.

Sensitivity decreases by less than 10% with the new beamformer.

Numerical results are verified experimentally in anechoic chamber and on a real telescope dish.

Abstract

The model of the reflector antenna system with focal plane array, low-noise amplifier and beamformer is developed in the work. The beamformer strategy is suggested to reduce the receiving sensitivity ripple inside field of view of the telescope, while the sensitivity itself drops slightly (less than 10%). The system APERTIF (which is currently under development in Netherlands Institute For Radioastronomy, ASTRON) has been analyzed using developed model, and numerical results are presented. The obtained numerical results have been verified experimentally in anechoic chamber as well as on one of the dishes of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (all measurements have been done in ASTRON).