Front-Ends and Phased Array Feeds for the Sardinia Radio Telescope

Abstract

We describe the design and performance of the Front- Ends for the 64-m diameter Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). An early science program was completed with SRT in August 2016, following a successful technical and scientific commissioning of the telescope and of its instrumentation. We give an overview of the three cryogenic Front-Ends, covering four bands, that were deployed on SRT during the early science program: P-band (305-410 MHz), L-band (1.3-1.8 GHz), high C-band (5.7- 7.7 GHz) and K-band (18-26.5 GHz). In addition, we describe the cryogenic Front-Ends that are currently under development, among which a seven beam for S-band (3.0-4.5 GHz) a mono-feed for Low-Cband (4.2-5.6 GHz), a 19-element for Q-band (33-50 GHz) and a mono-feed for a 3 mm band. Finally, we describe the development status of a demonstrator of a cryogenic C-band Phased Array Feed (PAF) for potential use at the SRT primary focus.