The Black Hole Explorer: Back End Electronics

TL;DR

This paper details the early design and specifications of the back end signal processing subsystems for the Black Hole Explorer space telescope, focusing on heterodyne and digital processing components supporting high bandwidth VLBI data transmission.

Contribution

It introduces a novel back end design for BHEX, integrating terrestrial heritage with early-stage space-grade component development for high-bandwidth VLBI data handling.

Findings

Design specifications and interface requirements established.

Prototype development plan using terrestrial and space-grade components.

Advancement towards TRL for space deployment by 2025.

Abstract

This paper describes specification and early design of back end signal processing subsystems for the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) space telescope. The "back end" consists of two subsystems. First, the block downconverter (BDC) is a heterodyne system that performs a frequency translation of the analog signal from IF to baseband and amplifies and filters it for digitization. Second, the digital back end (DBE) samples the analog signal with an analog-to-digital converters (ADC) and digitally processes the data stream formatting them to the VLBI "VDIF" standard and converting to Ethernet packets for 100 gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) Ethernet transport to the optical downlink system. Both the BDC and the DBE for BHEX support eight channels of 4.096 GHz bandwidth each, for a total processed bandwidth of 32.768 GHz. The BHEX back end benefits from mature terrestrial back end heritage, described in some detail. The BHEX back end itself is in the early stages of design, with requirements, interface specifications, and component trade studies well advanced. The aim is to build a prototype using terrestrial grade parts which are available in functionally identical space grade equivalents, and to use this prototype to advance the back end Technology Readiness Level (TRL) preparing for a Small Explorer (SMEX) proposal in 2025.