Back to Search Start Over

Design, Implementation, and Characterization of a Signal Acquisition Chain for SADino: The Precursor of the Italian Low-Frequency Telescope Named the Sardinia Aperture Array Demonstrator (SAAD).

Authors :
Ladu, Adelaide
Schirru, Luca
Pili, Mauro
Vargiu, Gian Paolo
Gaudiomonte, Francesco
Perini, Federico
Melis, Andrea
Concu, Raimondo
Murgia, Matteo
Source :
Sensors (14248220); Nov2023, Vol. 23 Issue 22, p9151, 14p
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Low-frequency aperture arrays represent sensitive instruments to detect signals from radio astronomic sources situated in the universe. In Italy, the Sardinia Aperture Array Demonstrator (SAAD) consists of an ongoing project of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) aimed to install an aperture array constituted of 128 dual-polarized Vivaldi antennas at the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) site. The originally envisaged 128 elements of SAAD were re-scoped to the 16 elements of its precursor named SADino, with the aim to quickly test the system with a digital beam-former based on the Italian Tile Processing Module (iTPM) digital back-end. A preliminary measurements campaign of radio frequency interference (RFI) was performed to survey the less contaminated spectral region. The results of these measurements permitted the establishment of the technical requirements for receiving a chain for the SADino telescope. In this paper, the design, implementation, and characterization of this signal acquisition chain are proposed. The operative frequency window of SAAD and its precursor, SADino, sweeps from 260 MHz to 420 MHz, which appears very attractive for radio astronomy applications and radar observation in space and surveillance awareness (SSA) activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14248220
Volume :
23
Issue :
22
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Sensors (14248220)
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
173867647
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/s23229151