Implementation Status of a Ultra-Wideband Receiver Package for the next-generation Very Large Array
Abstract
The next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) is a concept for a radio astronomical interferometric array operating in the frequency range 1.2 GHz to 116 GHz and designed to provide substantial improvements in sensitivity, angular resolution, and frequency coverage above the current Very Large Array (VLA). As notional design goals, it would have a continuous frequency coverage of 1.2 GHz to 48 GHz and be 10 times more sensitive than the VLA (and 25 times more sensitive than a 34 m diameter antenna of the Deep Space Network [DSN]). One of the key goals for the ngVLA is to reduce the operating costs without sacrificing performance. We are designing an ultra-wideband receiver package designed to operate across the 8 to 48 GHz frequency range, which can be contrasted to the current VLA, which covers this frequency range with five receiver packages. Reducing the number of receiving systems required to cover the full frequency range would reduce operating costs, and the objective of this work is to develop a prototype integrated feed-receiver package with a sensitivity performance comparable to current narrower band systems on radio telescopes and the DSN, but with a design that meets the requirement of low long-term operational costs. The ultra-wideband receiver package consists of a feed horn, low-noise amplifier (LNA), and down-converters to analog intermediate frequencies. Key features of this design are a quad-ridge feed horn with dielectric loading and a cryogenic receiver with a noise temperature of no more than 30 K at the low end of the band. We will report on the status of this receiver package development including the feed design and LNA implementation. We will present simulation studies of the feed horn including the insertion of dielectric components for improved illumination efficiencies across the band of interest. In addition, we will show experimental results of low-noise 35nm InP HEMT amplifier testing performed across the 8-50 GHz frequency range.Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #229
- Pub Date:
- January 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AAS...22934805L