Designing and testing an ultra-wideband receiver for the Green Bank Telescope
Abstract
We determined the predicted efficiency and basic circuit characteristics of a new ultra-wideband (UWB; 0.7 to 4.2 GHz) receiver for the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). The UWB receiver has been in development for several years and it represents a movement towards new-age receiver technology for Green Bank Observatory. The design features a quad-ridged, flared feed horn and utilizes a corrugated skirt and a quartz spear to extend the receiver's bandwidth. We find the predicted efficiency of the receiver to be around 60 to 70 percent at lower frequencies and above 50 percent at higher frequencies. The S11 values for the UWB receiver are better than -10 dB across the entire bandwidth, and performance is only predicted to degrade slightly at 2.8 GHz with the inclusion of a waveguide window. The UWB receiver will be used by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) to perform pulsar timing experiments using the GBT with greater sensitivity than before. Secondary science drivers for the receiver include the detection of broadband fast radio bursts and other radio transients as well as the study of radio recombination lines.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #235
- Pub Date:
- January 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AAS...23517517B