Analysis of Reflector Antennas in Radio Telescopes
Main Article Content
Abstract
We present an analysis on the performance of the Cassegrain and Gregorian on-axis, off-axis and offset antennas. In our study, we have adopted the design parameters for the Cassegrain configuration used in the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) project. Modifications on the original parameters are made so as to meet the design requirement for the off-axis and offset configurations. To reduce spillover loss in the offset antennas, we have adjusted the angle between the axis of the primary reflector and that of the sub-reflector, so that the feed horn is placed right next to the edge of the primary reflector. This is to allow the offset antennas to receive the highest power at the feed horn. The results obtained from the physical optics simulation show that the radiation characteristics of both Cassegrain and Gregorian antennas are similar. The offset designs exhibit the best performance, followed by the on-axis, and, finally, the off-axis designs. Our analysis also shows that the performance of both offset Cassegrain and Gregorian antennas are comparable to each other.
Downloads
Article Details
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
References
T. G. Phillips, J. Keene, Submillimeter astronomy, Proc. of the IEEE, 80: 1662 – 1678, 1992.
K. H. Yeap, C.Y. Tham, K.C. Yeong, K.H. Chong, Z.I. Rizman, C.C. Yang, Analysis of normal and superconducting coplanar waveguides in radio astronomy, Int. J. of Electronics, Computer, and Communication Technologies, 2: 9 – 12, 2011.
J. C. Cheng, E.S. Cheng, D.A. Cottingham, R.E. Eplee, D.J. Jr. Fixsen, T. Hewagama, R.B. Isaacman, K.A. Jensen, S.S. Meyer, P.D. Noerdlinger, S.M. Read, L.P. Rosen, R.A. Shafer, E.L. Wright, C.L. Bennett, N.W. Boggess, M.G. Hauser, T. Kelsall, S.H. Moseley, R.F. Jr. Silverberg, G.F. Smoot, R. Weiss, D.T. Wilkinson, Measurement of the cosmic microwave background spectrum by the COBE FIRAS instrument, The Astrophysical J, 410: 439 – 444, 1994.
K.H. Yeap, Y.H. Law, Z.I. Rizman, Y.K. Cheong, C.E. Ong, K.H. Chong, Performance analysis of paraboloidal reflector antennas in radio telescopes, Int. J. of Electronics, Computer, and Communication Technologies, 4: 21 – 25, 2013.
A. Wotten, ALMA capabilities for observations of spectral line emission, Astrophysics and Space Science, 313: 9 – 12, 2008.
K. H. Yeap, C.Y. Tham, H. Nisar, S.H. Loh, Analysis of probes in a rectangular waveguide, Frequenz J. of RF-Engineering and Telecommunications, 67: 145 – 154, 2013.
K. H. Yeap, C.Y. Tham, G. Yassin, K.C. Yeong, Attenuation in rectangular waveguides with finite conductivity walls, Radioengineering J., 20: 472 – 478, 2011.
S. Paine, D.C. Papa, R.L. Leombruno, X. Zhang, R. Blundell, Beam waveguide and receiver optics for the SMA, Proc. of the 5th Int. Symp. on Space THz Technology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1994.
C.A. Balanis, Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design, Wiley Interscience, 3rd ed., pp. 883 – 934, 2005.
T.L. Wilson, K. Rohlfs, S. Huttemeister, Tools of Radio Astronomy: Astronomy and Astrophysics Library, Springer, 5th ed., pp. 154 – 157, 2009.
J.L. Han, P.B. Demorest, W.V. Straten, A.G. Lyne, Polarization observations of 100 pulsars at 774 MHz by the Green Bank Telescope, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 181: 557 – 571, 2009.
S.M. Ransom, P.S. Ray, F. Camilo, M.S.E. Roberts, O. Celik, M.T. Wolff, C.C. Cheung, M. Kerr, T. Penucci, M.E. Decesar, I. Cognard, A.G. Lyne, B.W. Stappers, P.C.C. Freire, J.E. Grove, A.A. Abdo, G. Desvignes, D. Donato, E.C. Ferrara, N. Gehrels, L. Guillemot, C. Gwon, A.K. Harding, S. Johnston, M. Keith, M. Kramer, P.F. Michelson, D. Parent, P.M.S. Parkinson, R.W. Romani, D.A. Smith, G. Theureau, D.J. Thompson, P. Weltevrede, K.S. Wood, M. Ziegler, Three millisecond pulsars in Fermi Lat unassociated bright sources, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 727: 1 – 6, 2011.
T.R. Hunter, F.R. Schwab, S.D. White, J.M. Ford, F.D. Ghigo, R.J. Maddalena, B.S. Mason, J.D. Nelson, R.M. Prestage, J. Ray, P. Ries, R. Simon, S. Srikanth, P. Whiteis, Holographic measurement and improvement of the Green Bank Telescope surface, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 123: 1087 – 1099, 2011.
R.M. Prestage, K.T. Constantikes, T.R. Hunter, L.J. King, R.J. Lacasse, F.J. Lockman, R.D. Norrod, The Green Bank Telescope, Proc. of the IEEE, 97: 1382 – 1290, 2009.
I. Seker, J.D. Mathews, J. Wiig, P.F. Gutierrez, J.S. Friedman, C.A. Tepley, First results from the Penn state allsky imager at the Arecibo observatory, Earth Planets Space, 59: 165 – 176, 2007.
J.D. Mathews, J. Doherty, C.-H.Wen, S.J. Briczinski, D. Janches, D. D. Meisel, An update on UHF radar meteor observations and associated signal processing techniques at Arecibo observatory, J. of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 65: 1139 – 1149, 2003.
A.P.V. Siemion, G.C. Bower, G. Foster, P.L. McMahon, M.I. Wagner, D. Werthimer, D. Backer, J. Cordes, J.V. Leeuwen, The Allen telescope array fly's eye survey for fast radio transients, The Astrophysical J., 744: 109, 2012.
S. Croft, G.C. Bower, G. Keating, C. Law, D. Whysong, P.K.G. Williams, M. Wright, The Allen telescope array twenty-centimeter survey – A 700-square-degree, multi-epoch radio data set. II. Individual epoch transient statistics, The Astrophysical J., 731: 34, 2011.
A. Young, M.A.B. Terada, D.I.L. de Villiers, D. B. Davidson, Assessment of the sensitivity of the south African KAT-7 and MEERKAT/SKA radio telescope reflector antennas, Proc. of the Int. Conf. on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications, Cape Town, pp. 486 – 489, 2012.
D.I.L. de Villiers, Offset dual-reflector antenna system efficiency predictions including subreflector diffraction, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 10: 947 – 950, 2011.
D.I.L. de Villiers. Prediction of aperture efficiency ripple in clear aperture offset Gregorian antennas, IEEE Trans. on Antennas and Propagation, 61: 2457 – 2465, 2013.
G. Cortes-Medellin, Non-planar quasi-self-complementary ultra-wideband feed antenna, IEEE Trans. on Antennas and Propagation, 59: 1935 – 1944, 2011.
A. Gonzalez, Y. Uzawa, Y. Fujii, K. Kaneko, ALMA band 10 tertiary optics, Infrared Physics and Technology, 54: 488 – 496, 2011.
C.Y. Tham, G. Yassin, M. Carter, Analysis techniques for the optics in millimeter/submillimeter wave radio telescope receivers, Jurnal Fizik Malaysia, 28: 49 – 53, 2007.
M. Candotti, A.M. Baryshev, N. Trappe, Quasi-optical assessment of the ALMA band 9 front-end, Infrared Physics and Technology, 5: 174 – 179, 2007.
C.Y. Tham, S. Withington, ALMA receiver optics design, electromagnetic analysis, second report (band 3, 6, 7, and 9), 2003.
W. Rusch, The current state of the reflector antenna are – entering the 1990s, Proc. of the IEEE, 80: 113 – 126, 1992.
J.S. Courtney-Pratt, J.H. Hett, J.W. McLaughlin, Optical measurements on Telstar to determine the orientation of the spin axis, and the spin rate, J. Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, 72: 462 – 484, 1963.
T.A. Milligan, Modern Antenna Design, Wiley Interscience. 2nd ed., 2005.
Y. Mizugutch, M. Akagawa, H. Yokoi, Offset dual reflector antenna, Int. Symp. of Antennas and Propagation Society, 14: 2 – 5, 1976.
J. W. Lamb, A. Baryshev, M. C. Carter, L. R. D’Addario, B. N. Ellison, W. Grammer, B. Lazareff, Y. Sekimoto, and C. Y. Tham. (2001, Apr.). ALMA Receiver Optics Design. ALMA Memo 362, The Atacama Large Millimetre Array Project, National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
K.H. Yeap, C.Y. Yiam, Y.H. Ling, M.C. Loh, H. Nisar, K.C. Lai, Z.I. Rizman, Analysis of offset reflector antennas in radio telescopes, Proc. of the 2nd Int. Sc., Tech. and Eng. Conference, Penang, Malaysia, 2016.
M. Candotti, A. Baryshev, N. Trappe, Quasi-optical assessment of the ALMA band 9 front-end, Infrared Physics and Technology, 52: 174 – 179, 2009.
M. Candotti, A. Baryshev, N.A. Trappe, R. Hesper, J.A. Murphy, J. Barkhof, Quasi-optical verification of the band 9 ALMA front-end, Proc. of the 16th Int. Symp. on Space THz Tech., Chalmers University of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden, pp. 79 – 84, 2009.
M. Naruse, T. Ito, Y. Sekimoto, H. Toba, N. Satou, M. Sugimoto, W. Shan, Y. Iizuka, T. Kamba, M. Kamikura, Y. Serizawa, Near-field beam pattern measurement of qualification model of ALMA band 8 (385 – 500 GHz) cartridge receiver, Exp. Astron., 24: 89 – 107, 2009.
Y. Sekimoto, Y. Iizuka, N. Satou, T. Ito, K. Kumagai, M. Kamikura, M. Naruse, W.L. Shan, Development of ALMA band 8 (385 – 500 GHz) Cartridge. Proc. of the 19th Int. Symp. on Space THz Tech., Groningen, Netherlands, pp. 253 – 257, 2008.
P. F. Goldsmith, Quasioptical Systems; Gaussian Beam, Quasioptical Propagation and Applications, New York: IEEE Press, 1998.