Derek Kubo

The AMiBA Hexapod Telescope Mount

The Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) is the largest hexapod astronomical telescope in current operation. We present a description of this novel hexapod mount with its main mechanical components—the support cone, universal joints, jack screws, and platform—and outline the control system with the pointing model and the operating modes that are supported. The AMiBA hexapod mount performance is verified based on optical pointing tests and platform photogrammetry measurements. The photogrammetry results show that the deformations in the inner part of the platform are less than 120 μm rms. This is negligible for optical pointing corrections, radio alignment, and radio phase errors for the currently operational seven-element compact configuration. The optical pointing error in azimuth and elevation is successively reduced by a series of corrections to about 0 4 rms which meets our goal for the seven-element target specifications.

Greenland telescope project: Direct confirmation of black hole with sub‐millimeter VLBI

A 12 m diameter radio telescope will be deployed to the Summit Station in Greenland to provide direct confirmation of a Super Massive Black Hole (SMBH) by observing its shadow image in the active galaxy M87. The telescope (Greenland Telescope: GLT) is to become one of the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) stations at sub-millimeter (submm) regime, providing the longest baseline >9000 km to achieve an exceptional angular resolution of 20 µas at 350 GHz, which will enable us to resolve the shadow size of ~40 µas. The triangle with the longest baselines formed by the GLT, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, and the Submillimeter Array (SMA) in Hawaii will play a key role for the M87 observations. We have been working on the image simulations based on realistic conditions for a better understanding of the possible observed images. In parallel, retrofitting of the telescope and the site developments are in progress. Based on 3 years of opacity monitoring at 225 GHz, our measurements indicate that the site is excellent for submm observations, comparable to the ALMA site. The GLT is also expected to make single-dish observations up to 1.5 THz.

A wideband analog correlator system for AMiBA

A wideband correlator system with a bandwidth of 16 GHz or more is required for Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) to achieve the sensitivity of 10μK in one hour of observation. Double-balanced diode mixers were used as multipliers in 4-lag correlator modules. Several wideband modules were developed for IF signal distribution between receivers and correlators. Correlator outputs were amplified, and digitized by voltage-to-frequency converters. Data acquisition circuits were designed using field programmable gate arrays (FPGA). Subsequent data transfer and control software were based on the configuration for Australia Telescope Compact Array. Transform matrix method will be adopted during calibration to take into account the phase and amplitude variations of analog devices across the passband.

AMiBA WIDEBAND ANALOG CORRELATOR

A wideband analog correlator has been constructed for the Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy. Lag correlators using analog multipliers provide large bandwidth and moderate frequency resolution. Broadband intermediate frequency distribution, back-end signal processing, and control are described. Operating conditions for optimum sensitivity and linearity are discussed. From observations, a large effective bandwidth of around 10 GHz has been shown to provide sufficient sensitivity for detecting cosmic microwave background variations.

THE AMIBA PROJECT

The Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy is a 7-element interferometer to be sited on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. The seven 1.2m telescopes are mounted on a 6-meter platform, and operates at 3mm wavelength. At the time of this meeting, the telescope is under construction at the Vertex factory in Germany. It is due to be delivered in the middle of 2004. A 2-element prototype instrument has already been deployed to Mauna Loa where initial tests are underway.

A 5 Giga Samples Per Second 8-Bit Analog to Digital Printed Circuit Board for Radio Astronomy

We have designed, manufactured, and characterized an 8-bit 5 Giga samples per second (Gsps) ADC printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). An e2v EV8AQ160 ADC chip was used in the design and the board is plug compatible with the field programmable gate array (FPGA) board developed by the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) community. Astronomical interference fringes were demonstrated across a single baseline pair of antennas using two ADC boards on the Yuan Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) telescope. Several radio interferometers are using this board for bandwidth expansion, such as Submillimeter Array; also, several experimental telescopes are building new spectrometers using the same board. The ADC boards were attached directly to the Reconfigurable Open Architecture Computing Hardware (ROACH-2) FPGA board for processing of the digital output signals. This ADC board provides the capability of digitizing radio frequency signals from DC to 2 GHz (3 dB bandwidth), and to an extended bandwidth of 2.5 GHz (5 dB) with derated performance. The following worst-case performance parameters were obtained over 2 GHz: spur free dynamic range (SFDR) of 44 dB, signal-to-noise and distortion (SINAD) of 35 dB, and effective number of bits (ENOB) of 5.5.

Digitizing The Yuan Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy by 5Gsps ADC boards

An 8 bits, 5 Giga samples per second Analog to Digital Printed Circuit Board has been designed by the authors for digitizing The Yuan Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy(AMiBA) and other radio telescopes. Associated with the Field Programmable Gate Array platform developed by the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research community, AMiBA will have a digital correlator system in the future, that was fiscally difficult in 2001 when it was at design phase. The board can digitize input radio frequencies from DC up to 2.5GHz with a flatness of 5dB. The ENOB ranges from 6.1 to 6.5 bits across the 2.5GHz band, the SFDR from 41 dB to 48 dB, and the SINAD from 32 dB to 37.5 dB if the gain and offset tuning is applied.

Platform deformation refined pointing and phase correction for the AMiBA hexapod telescope

The Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) is a radio interferometer for research in cosmology, currently operating 7 0.6m diameter antennas co-mounted on a 6m diameter platform driven by a hexapod mount. AMiBA is currently the largest hexapod telescope. We briefly summarize the hexapod operation with the current pointing error model. We then focus on the upcoming 13-element expansion with its potential difficulties and solutions. Photogrammetry measurements of the platform reveal deformations at a level which can affect the optical pointing and the receiver radio phase. In order to prepare for the 13-element upgrade, two optical telescopes are installed on the platform to correlate optical pointing tests. Being mounted on different locations, the residuals of the two sets of pointing errors show a characteristic phase and amplitude difference as a function of the platform deformation pattern. These results depend on the telescopes azimuth, elevation and polarization position. An analytical model for the deformation is derived in order to separate the local deformation induced error from the real hexapod pointing error. Similarly, we demonstrate that the deformation induced radio phase error can be reliably modeled and calibrated, which allows us to recover the ideal synthesized beam in amplitude and shape of up to 90% or more. The resulting array efficiency and its limits are discussed based on the derived errors.

The Greenland Telescope: antenna retrofit status and future plans

Since the ALMA North America Prototype Antenna was awarded to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), SAO and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) are working jointly to relocate the antenna to Greenland. This paper shows the status of the antenna retrofit and the work carried out after the recommissioning and subsequent disassembly of the antenna at the VLA has taken place. The next coming months will see the start of the antenna reassembly at Thule Air Base. These activities are expected to last until the fall of 2017 when commissioning should take place. In parallel, design, fabrication and testing of the last components are taking place in Taiwan.

The Greenland Telescope (GLT): antenna status and future plans

The ALMA North America Prototype Antenna was awarded to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in 2011. SAO and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA), SAO’s main partner for this project, are working jointly to relocate the antenna to Greenland to carry out millimeter and submillimeter VLBI observations. This paper presents the work carried out on upgrading the antenna to enable operation in the Arctic climate by the GLT Team to make this challenging project possible, with an emphasis on the unexpected telescope components that had to be either redesigned or changed. Five-years of inactivity, with the antenna laying idle in the desert of New Mexico, coupled with the extreme weather conditions of the selected site in Greenland have it necessary to significantly refurbish the antenna. We found that many components did need to be replaced, such as the antenna support cone, the azimuth bearing, the carbon fiber quadrupod, the hexapod, the HVAC, the tiltmeters, the antenna electronic enclosures housing servo and other drive components, and the cables. We selected Vertex, the original antenna manufacturer, for the main design work, which is in progress. The next coming months will see the major antenna components and subsystems shipped to a site of the US East Coast for test-fitting the major antenna components, which have been retrofitted. The following step will be to ship the components to Greenland to carry out VLBI