A broadband FFT spectrometer for radio and millimeter astronomy

The core architecture, tests in the lab and first results of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectrometer are described. It is based on a commercially available fast digital sampler (AC240) with an on-board Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The spectrometer works continuously and has a remarkable...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin) 2005-11, Vol.442 (2), p.767-773
Main Authors: Benz, A. O., Grigis, P. C., Hungerbühler, V., Meyer, H., Monstein, C., Stuber, B., Zardet, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
instrumentation: spectrographs
methods: observational
radio lines: general
radio lines: stars
submillimeter
techniques: spectroscopic
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Description
Summary:The core architecture, tests in the lab and first results of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectrometer are described. It is based on a commercially available fast digital sampler (AC240) with an on-board Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The spectrometer works continuously and has a remarkable total bandwidth of 1 GHz, resolved into 16 384 channels. The data is sampled with 8 bits, yielding a dynamic range of 48 dB. An Allan time of more than 2000 s and an SFDR of 37 dB were measured. First light observations with the KOSMA telescope show a perfect spectrum without internal or external spurious signals.
ISSN:0004-6361
1432-0746
DOI:10.1051/0004-6361:20053568