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ALMA North American Integration Center Front-End Test System

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Abstract

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter (ALMA) Array Front End (FE) system is the first element in a complex chain of signal receiving, conversion, processing and recording. 70 Front Ends will be required for the project. The Front End is designed to receive signals in ten different frequency bands. In the initial phase of operations, the antennas will be fully equipped with six bands. These are Band 3 (84–116 GHz), Band 4 (125–163 GHz), Band 6 (211–275 GHz), Band 7 (275–373 GHz), Band 8 (385–500 GHz) and Band 9 (602–720 GHz). It is planned to equip the antennas with the missing bands at a later stage of ALMA operations, with a few Band 5 (163–211 GHz) and Band 10 (787–950 GHz) receivers in use before the end of the construction project. The ALMA Front End is far superior to any existing receiver systems; spin-offs of the ALMA prototypes are leading to improved sensitivities in existing millimeter and submillimeter observatories. The Front End units are comprised of numerous elements, produced at different locations in Europe, North America and East Asia and are integrated at several Front End integration centers (FEIC) to insure timely delivery of all the units to Chile. The North American FEIC (NA FEIC) is at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory facility in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. This paper describes the design and performance of the test set used at the NA FEIC to check the performance of the Front Ends, following integration and prior to shipment to Chile.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank C. Cunningham for his help with some of the documentation, K. Saini for his help with the design of the phase drift system, and all the members of the various cartridge groups for their help with the operation of their cartridges.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 1180 Boxwood Estate Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, USA

    Geoffrey A. Ediss, Joshua Crabtree, Kirk Crady, Erik Gaines, Morgan McLeod, Greg Morris, Rick Williams, Antonio Perfetto & John Webber

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  1. Geoffrey A. Ediss
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  2. Joshua Crabtree
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  3. Kirk Crady
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  4. Erik Gaines
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  9. John Webber
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Correspondence to Geoffrey A. Ediss.

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The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a facility of the National Science Foundation (NSF) operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc (AUI).

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Ediss, G.A., Crabtree, J., Crady, K. et al. ALMA North American Integration Center Front-End Test System. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 31, 1182–1204 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-010-9688-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-010-9688-y

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