R&D at Nançay for radio astronomy detectors and systems

¹ Station de Radioastronomie, 18330 Nançay, France
² GEPI and Station de Radioastronomie, Observatoire de Paris, Place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
³ LESIA and Station de Radioastronomie, Observatoire de Paris, Place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
⁴ Institut PRISME, Université d'Orléans, 12 rue de Blois, BP. 6744, 45067 Orléans Cedex 2, France

Corresponding author: jean-michel.martin@obspm.fr

Abstract

Nançay radio astronomy station teams are involved in several aspects of the Research and Development (R&D) for radio astronomy detectors and systems: i) Microelectronics: Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA), receiver on chip and system in package. The long-term goal is to provide sub-systems for the future Square Kilometer Array and its Pathfinders. A beamformer chip has been integrated in the FP6 SKADS dense aperture array technology demonstrator EMBRACE. Wide band SiGe LNAs are developed, beamformers with in-chip control are studied and more complex integrated receivers are designed for the european Aperture Array Verification Programme demonstrator. ii) Digital signal processing: EMBRACE beamforming has been implemented in the digital backend and RFI-mitigation oriented signal processing has been designed for realtime systems, including work for FP6 SKADS and FP7 PrepSKA. iii) A study of Phased Array Feeds has started in 2008, in order to study the radio electric properties of PAFs at the focus of large F/D telescopes, such as the Nançay Radio Telescope, as well as to test PAF systems in collaboration with the SPP/IRFU and LAL/IN2P3 laboratories.