> Small dishes - Solid surface
> Small dishes - Mesh surface
> Small dishes + focal plane arrays
Aperture arrays:
> Aperture plane Array (AA)
Other concepts which have been considered:
> KARST - LAR - Cylindrical reflectors - Luneburg Lens
> Aperture Array (AA)
 |
|
|
|
One of the most innovative concepts for
the SKA telescope is to use flat phased arrays with a total of over 50
million receiving elements and a mixed RF/digital adaptive beamformer
system. This technology has been prototyped by ASTRON in the Netherlands
in the THEA (Thousand Element Array) project, with striking results. Each
THEA tile is 1 square metre in area and consists of 64 wide-band antenna
elements connected to complex electronics. The movie shows how the SKA
antenna will provide simultaneous multiple views of the sky, allowing
several groups of astronomers to observe different programs simultaneously.
See
the movie...
The Reference Design includes phased array technology both at low and
intermediate frequencies as aperture arrays or focal plane arrays in small
dishes. Detailed engineering design studies are funded in Europe (SKADS,
2004-9) to fully investigate the practical issues and cost aspects of
this technology.
In the course of the SKA
Design Study, two aperture arrays will be built, one (300mē) at the
Westerbork radio telescope site in the Netherlands, the other (100mē)
at the Nancay site in France. These will be singly polarized aperture
arrays with the name EMBRACE (Electronic Multi-Beam
Radio Astronomy ConcEpt).
At Westerbork, EMBRACE will be connected to the local synthesis array
making it possible to demonstrate multiple, independent beam-forming capabilities.
More about this design :
Design concept white papers: 2003
- 2002
Demonstrator white paper: 2004
On the web:
SKA in Astron - Movie
(in Dutch) - SKADS
website
Media coverage: "European Astronomy Gets New Vision", 23 Sept. 2004. Read...
©copyright ska - contact webmaster: www@astron.nl