UAV-based method for the sensitivity measurement on low-frequency receiving systems

Abstract

One of the most important requirements for the astronomical Low-Frequency Aperture Arrays (LFAAs) is the high sensitivity, defined as the ratio between the effective area and the system noise temperature. This figure of merit is strictly related to the single element sensitivity, which is difficult to measure using astronomical sources. On the other hand, the characterization of a low-frequency antenna inside an anechoic chamber is not straightforward down to 50 MHz. In this contribution a novel method to measure the sensitivity of a single LFAA receiving chain is presented. The proposed technique utilizes a micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle equipped with a RF test source. A preliminary error budget analysis demonstrated that this technique is able to measure the sensitivity of a LFAA chain with high accuracy.