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Aperture arrays:
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> Small dishes - Solid surface
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Large single parabolic reflectors can be replaced by clusters of small mass-produced parabolic antennas each of which is equipped with a feed and receiver system. 12-15m diameter concentrators are being developed in Australia (xNTD), South Africa (KAT), as well as in Canada, India, and the USA.
A total of 4400 12m dishes are needed to meet the sensitivity specification, 2200 of which would be in the central 5km core and the rest grouped into stations spread out over the full extent of the array.
The small dish concept in the US is likely to follow either
that of the offset-fed 6m antenna of the Allen Telescope Array, ATA, which
is currently under construction at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in
northern California, or centre-fed concept under study at the NASA as
part of the Deep Space Network Antenna Array Project.
More about this design :
On the web ATA
- DSN
Design concept white papers 2003
2002
Memo: USSKA
Antenna Development
ATA demonstrator white paper 2004
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