SKA Introduction

Jan Geralt Bij de VaateAndrew Faulkner, Andre Gunst, Peter Hall

Overview

• The SKA

• Why Aperture (phased) Arrays

• AA pathfinders/pre-cursors

• Development path towards SKA

The next step: SKA

• Square Kilometre Array• 100 times larger in collecting area• 10.000 more power full in survey speed

• Unprecedented instrument!

W20 : Recent Developments in Phased Array Radar

AustraliaAustraliaSouthern AfricaSouthern Africa

SKA Phase 1 Implementation

250 Dishes including MeerKAT 0.3-13.8GHz

~280 80m dia. Aperture Array Stations 50-350MHz

90 Dishes includingASKAP 0.8-1.7GHz

Survey

Southern AfricaSouthern Africa

SKA Phase 2 Implementation

~ 2700 Dishes0.3 – 20GHz

~ 250 Aperture Array Stations 350-1450MHz

~280 180m dia. Aperture Array Stations 50-350MHz

AustraliaAustralia

Why aperture arrays?

• Low frequency operation

• Survey speed

• The ability to create multiple beams for a very large Field of View

• Extremely flexible in observational parameters

• Multiple experiments can be run concurrently

ICT based: AAs provide many new opportunities

v

URSI GA Istanbul 2011LOFAR Lessons 7

LOFAR core

LOFAR station

LOFAR: Digital Beam Forming

W20 : Recent Developments in Phased Array Radar

Antenna-Beam

Station-Beam

Station

Dipole

(Tie

d) A

rray

-Bea

m

Array

Precursor: MWA

• ICRAR+partners• Western Australia• 128 tiles

SKA-low implementation

b

• h

Realized 16 element proto type array

SKA-AADC consortium

1. ASTRON Management, system, processing

2. ICRAR Australia Site, verification systems

3. INAF Italy Receiver

4. University of Cambridge System, antenna+LNA

5. University of Oxford Signal processing

6. KLAASA (China)

7. Associate members:

– JIVE

– University of Manchester

– University of Malta– GLOW (German low frequency consortium)

– MIT

AA-mid

EMBRACE at Westerbork (NL)

EMBRACE @ASTRONEMBRACE @Nançayn

Dual Beam Demonstration

From EMBRACE to SKA-mid

• Issues to be resolved;– Power consumption– Cost – Performance, calibratebility, noise

• SKA 2 requirements not clear• SKA 2 timescale ?

SKA Schedule: AA-mid

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

SKA 1

SKA 2

Stage 1Pre-ConPre-Con

Stage 2

SRR PDR

AERA3

African European Radio Astronomy Aperture Array

• 2000-5000m2

• 14 stations• ~80 deg2 per Field of View• baseline 300-1000m

• Science– BAO– Pulsar search– Polarization– HI absorption– RRL

Status

• Selected environmental test site – At the KAT7/meerKAT

construction site

Status

• Ground anchor tests Karoo– August 2013

Status, Moura, Portugal

Renewable energy installationAA Test station

MFAA consortium

1. ASTRON System design, proto-typing, management

2. Observatoire d’ Paris (Nancay) Front-end chips

3. University of Bordeaux ADC

4. University of Cambridge System design

5. University of Manchester ORA

6. China: KLAASA Receiver, antenna: 3x3m2 array

7. Associate members:

– Portugal Renewable energy

– University of Malta Fractal ORA

– South Africa Site support

Conclusion

• Phased arrays open a new era in radio astronomy• Surveys limited only by computing power

– Very much an IT telescope

• Cost and power to be reduced in order to realize 100 million element system

W20 : Recent Developments in Phased Array Radar