Speaker
Description
At ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, we are developing the next generation of radio telescopes. Traditionally, coaxial cables have been used to transport signals from the antenna to the processing facility. For future systems, we aim to replace these with optical fibre interconnects. Within ASTRON, this concept is referred to as the Ethernet Receiver. This transition requires placing a synchronised ADC close to the antenna, with both the clock reference and digitised data transmitted via fibre.
We are investigating this concept through two projects: MID4Automotive and Future Network Services (FNS). Key challenges include shielding sensitive analogue circuitry from digital noise and achieving high-precision synchronisation. Within MID4Automotive, we are developing a prototype capable of handling up to 100 MHz bandwidth, aimed at a potential LOFAR upgrade. Synchronisation is achieved using White Rabbit technology. In the FNS project, we are designing an Ethernet receiver based on an RFSoC, supporting bandwidths of up to 2.5 GHz.
In this presentation, we will outline our design choices for the ADC, clock distribution, and the integration of White Rabbit for clock synchronisation. We will share initial results from the 100 MHz Ethernet receiver and present measurement outcomes from the RFSoC4x2 evaluation. Finally, we will discuss our roadmap for the next phase of development.
