P. Marongiu

The dual-band LP feed system for the Sardinia Radio Telescope prime focus

We present the design of the passive feed system of the dual-band receiver for the prime focus of the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT), a new 64 m diameter radio telescope which is being built in Sardinia, Italy. The feed system operates simultaneously in P-band (305-410 MHz) and L-band (1300-1800 MHz). The room temperature illuminators are arranged in coaxial configuration with an inner circular waveguide for L-band (diameter of 19 cm) and an outer coaxial waveguide for P-band (diameter of 65 cm). Choke flanges are used outside the coaxial section to improve the crosspolarization performance and the back scattering of the P-band feed. The geometry was optimized for compactness and high antenna efficiency in both bands using commercial electromagnetic simulators. Four probes arranged in symmetrical configuration are used in both the P and the L-band feeds to extract dual-linearly polarized signals and to combine them, through phased-matched coaxial cables, into 180 deg hybrid couplers. A vacuum vessel encloses the two P-band hybrids and the two L-band hybrids which are cooled, respectively at 15 K and 77 K. For the P-Band, four low loss coaxial feedthroughs are used to cross the vacuum vessel, while for the L-Band a very low loss large window is employed. The P-band hybrids are based on a microstrip rat-race design with fractal geometry. The L-band hybrids are based on an innovative double-ridged waveguide design that also integrates a band-pass filter for Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) mitigation.

A Compact L-Band Orthomode Transducer for Radio Astronomical Receivers at Cryogenic Temperature

We describe the design, construction, and performance of a compact orthomode transducer (OMT) for the L-band receiver (1.3-1.8 GHz) of the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). The complete OMT consists of a cylindrical orthomode junction (OMJ), which is presented in this paper, and two identical 180 ° hybrid power combiners in a double-ridged waveguide, which have been proposed in a previous work. The OMT operates at the cryogenic temperature of 20 K to reduce its thermal noise contribution to the noise of the receiving chain. Therefore, particular care has been taken in the design of the OMJ to minimize its dimension and insure a good thermalization. The proposed OMT has been designed and optimized by using CST Microwave Studio, and then manufactured, tested at room temperature, and installed on the L-band receiver of the SRT. The measured results fully comply with the design specifications. In particular, the isolation between the OMT output ports is more than 40 dB, and the cross polarization is less than -35 dB for both polarization channels.

A compact L-band Ortho Mode Junction

We describe the design construction and performance of a L-band (1300-1800 MHz) Ortho Mode Junction for the L-P dual-band receiver to be installed on the 64 m Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT), a new radio telescope which is being built in Sardinia, Italy. The Ortho Mode Junction (OMJ) separates two orthogonal linearly polarized signals propagating in a 172 mm diameter circular waveguide and couple them into four coaxial outputs. The OMJ is part of an OMT (Ortho Mode Transducer), which includes two 1800 hybrids allowing to recombine the out-of-phase signals from the balanced OMJ outputs. The OMJ consists of four probes arranged in symmetrical configuration across the circular waveguide. A shaped tuning stub with cylindrical profile is placed a quarter wavelength away from the probes to guarantee broadband operation with low reflection coefficient across L-band. The four identical probes have a cylindrical structure, each consisting of three concentric cylinders that attach to the central pin of standard 50 Ω 7/16-type coaxial connectors. The OMJ will be cooled at 80 K inside a compact dewar together with directional couplers and Low Noise Amplifiers. The two linearly polarized signals from an input 190 mm diameter room temperature L-band feed couple into the cryogenic dewar through a vacuum window located across the waveguide. Inside the dewar, the 190 mm diameter circular waveguide is tapered down to 172 mm using a conical transition (length 85 mm) filled with a Styrodur® foam that provides mechanical support for a 0.125 mm thick Kapton vacuum barrier. A 0.6 mm air gap across the 172 mm circular waveguide provides thermal decoupling between the ambient temperature and the 80 K OMJ, which is connected to the conical transition output.

A multifeed S-band cryogenic receiver for the Sardinia Radio Telescope primary focus

The noise temperature of existing radio telescope receivers has actually achieved very low values. In any case, there are other practical ways to increase the observational speed of a single dish antennas without using longer integration time: observe with multi-beam and large bandwidth receiver. In this paper we present the front end and the cryogenic dewar design of the 5 beams FPA double linear polarization receiver for the primary focus of the 64 m Sardinia Radio Telescope.

Architecture of the metrology for the SRT

The Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) Metrology team is planning to install an initial group of devices on the new 64 meters radio-telescope. These devices will be devoted for the realization of the antenna deformation control system: an electronic inclinometer able to monitor the alidade deformations and a Position Sensing Device (PSD) able to map the antenna secondary mirror (M2) displacements and tilts. The inclinometer will be used to map the rail conditions, the azimuthal axis inclination and the thermal effects on the alidade structure. The PSD will be used to measure the secondary mirror displacements induced by the gravity and by the thermal deformations that produce shifts and tilts with respect to its ideal optical alignment. The PSD will be traced by diode laser installed on a mechanically stable position inside the elevation equipment room. The inclinometer has been tested in laboratory with the aim to compare its performances with a reference measurement system. The PSD and the laser have been characterized by a long-term tests to assess their stability and accuracy, thus simulating the open air conditions that will be experienced by the device during its operative life. M2 may move freely in space thanks to a six axis actuator system (hexapod). The PSD measurements are processed by a hexapod kinematic model (HKM) to evaluate the correct actuator elongations, thus closing the control loop. The sensors will be acquired and recorded by a dedicated PC installed in the Alidade equipment room and connected to the sensors via the Ethernet network.

High‐performance cryogenic fractal 180° hybrid power divider with integrated directional coupler

A 180° hybrid and a directional coupler to be employed in the P-band cryogenic receiver of the Sardinia Radio Telescope are proposed in this work. An in-depth study of the issues related to the use of microwave components for cryogenic radio astronomy receivers is carried out to select the best suited technology and configuration. As a result, a planar fractal 180° hybrid configuration available in the literature has been optimized aiming to increase the operating bandwidth in order to comply with the design specifications of the application at hand. A coupled lines directional coupler with weak coupling and high isolation, used to calibrate the receiver chain, is cascaded to the 180° hybrid and realized in the same layout. The final device, consisting of the 180° hybrid and the directional coupler, has been manufactured and tested at the cryogenic temperature of 20 K, showing a good agreement between experimental results and predicted performance.

The 7-beam S-band cryogenic receiver for the SRT primary focus: project status

Existing radio receivers have a very low noise temperature. To further increase the observation speed, the new generation of radio receivers use a multi-beam focal plane array (FPA) together with wide bandwidth. In this article, we present the front-end and cryogenic design of the 7-beam FPA double linear polarization receiver for the 64-m primary focus of the Sardinia Radio Telescope. At the end of this article, we show the simulated performances of the front-end receiver and the measurements of the down-conversion section.

Optical design of S-band multifeed for the Sardinia Radio Telescope primary focus

We present the optical design of an S-band seven-feed cryogenic radio astronomy receiver for illuminating the 64-m diameter Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) dish from the primary focus. The feeds are arranged in a compact hexagonal configuration with a central one and are cryogenically cooled at 20 K inside a cryostat. Each feed accepts two linear polarizations and use a circular waveguide with a single outer corrugated section to achieve a nearly constant beam width and low cross polarization across the 3.0–4.5 GHz band. The simulated radiation pattern of the SRT telescope is obtained by coupling the array of feed-horn beam patterns (optimized with the electromagnetic software CST) with the 64-m parabolic dish (through a physical optics analysis carried out with GRASP). We compare the simulated beam pattern of an isolated feed with those of the same feed embedded in the dense array and analyze the effects of an absorber located inside the cryostat around the cryogenic feeds. We found that the absorber improves the overall system performance by decreasing the cross-coupling effects between the feeds while adding negligible noise to the system.

The control system of the 3 mm band SIS receiver for the Sardinia Radio Telescope

We present the control system of the 84-116 GHz (3 mm band) Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) heterodyne receiver to be installed at the Gregorian focus of the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). The control system is based on a single-board computer from Raspberry, on microcontrollers from Arduino, and on a Python program for communication between the receiver and the SRT antenna control software, which remotely controls the backshorttuned SIS mixer, the receiver calibration system and the Local Oscillator (LO) system.

Status of the radio receiver system of the Sardina Radio Telescope

In this article, we present the design and performances of the radio receiver system installed at the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). The three radio receivers planned for the first light of the Sardinian Telescope have been installed in three of the four possible focus positions. A dual linear polarization coaxial receiver that covers two frequency bands, the P-band (305-410 MHz) and the L-band (1.3-1.8 GHz) is installed at the primary focus. A mono-feed that covers the High C-band (5.7-7.7 GHz) is installed at the beam waveguide foci. A multi-beam (seven beams) K-band receiver (18- 26.5 GHz) is installed at the Gregorian focus. Finally, we give an overview about the radio receivers, which under test and under construction and which are needed for expanding the telescope observing capabilities.