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Effect of feed array configuration on the Field-of-View of radio telescope antenna

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Journal of Electronics (China)

Abstract

Phased Array Feed (PAF) is a small two-dimensional phased array antenna, playing a role as the multi-beam feed for the reflector antenna. The prominent capability of large continuous Field-of-View (FoV) coverage and fast survey speed makes PAF the promising feed for radio telescopes. In this paper, the effect of feed array of PAF on the gain fluctuations over FoV is analyzed on a simplified model of the Five-hundred-meter Spherical Aperture radio Telescope (FAST), including illumination pattern edge taper, element spacing, element arrangement and element amount. And the differences between rectangular and hexagonal array arrangements are compared. The relationship between the FoV and array configuration are concluded at last.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Antennas and Microwave Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, 710071, China

    Yang Wu

  2. Joint Laboratory for Radio Astronomy Technology, Shijiazhuang, 050081, China

    Yang Wu, Biao Du, Xiaomeng Liu & Chengjin Jin

  3. No. 589, West Zhongshan Road, Shijiahuang, 050081, China

    Yang Wu

Authors
  1. Yang Wu
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  2. Biao Du
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  3. Xiaomeng Liu
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  4. Chengjin Jin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yang Wu.

Additional information

Partly supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China under the State Key Development Program for Basic Research (No. 2012-CB821800).

Communication author: Wu Yang, born in 1984, male, Ph.D. student.

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Wu, Y., Du, B., Liu, X. et al. Effect of feed array configuration on the Field-of-View of radio telescope antenna. J. Electron.(China) 30, 362–367 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11767-013-3083-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11767-013-3083-4

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