Experimental demonstration of focal plane array beamforming in a prototype radiotelescope

Douglas Brian Hayman, Trevor S. Bird, Karu P. Esselle, Peter J. Hall

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)
7 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Focal plane arrays are being developed to provide dishes with a wide field of view for both the next generation of radiotelescopes and to retrofit existing large radiotelescopes. We describe a prototype radiotelescope, comprising a two dish interferometer with real-time digital beamformer that was built to study focal plane array systems. Two beamformer weightings were applied to the system: A normalized conjugate match and the maximum sensitivity (G/T). Both incorporate the uncorrelated noise from the receiver chains and the latter includes correlated noise from spillover and coupling in the array. A black box approach is taken where the assembled system is considered and the only accessible data is that typically available from an operational radiotelescope. This approach is particularly suitable for complex active antennas where there is insufficient knowledge of the system for beamformer weights to be set a priori. It also allows adaptation to changes such as electronic gain drift, partial failures and alterations in the environment.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5439893
Pages (from-to)1922-1934
Number of pages13
JournalIEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
Volume58
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2010

Bibliographical note

Copyright 2010 IEEE. Reprinted from IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of Macquarie University’s products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to pubs-permissions@ieee.org. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Experimental demonstration of focal plane array beamforming in a prototype radiotelescope'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this