Speaker
Description
This work presents recent advancements in digital backend development for both high-frequency and low-frequency radio astronomy applications. The high-frequency backend development targets the Greenland Telescope (GLT), the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), and other telescopes operating above 100 GHz. In the high-frequency regime (>100 GHz), relevant to millimeter and submillimeter observations at GLT and LMT, we leverage Altera’s Stratix 10 AX series FPGAs, which feature embedded Direct RF transceivers. These devices enable direct sampling of intermediate frequency (IF) signals without the need for analog down-conversion, simplifying front-end design and minimizing phase noise. The digital signal processing chain includes polyphase filter banks, fast Fourier transforms (FFT), and data packetization for downstream processing.
For low-frequency observations (300–700 MHz), we utilize the Xilinx ZCU216 platform as part of the BURSTT (Bustling Universe Radio Survey in Taiwan) project. BURSTT is a wide-field, low-frequency radio observatory initiative aimed at exploring time-domain astrophysics, including fast radio bursts (FRBs), pulsars, and other transient phenomena. To meet the demands of high time resolution, wide bandwidth, and large sky coverage, we have developed a high-performance digital backend based on the Xilinx ZCU216 platform. The ZCU216 integrates an UltraScale+ device with high-throughput RFSoC interfaces and flexible programmable logic, enabling real-time data acquisition, channelization, and streaming for transient detection. The backend is designed to support 16 simultaneous input channels, with firmware optimized for multi-beam, low-frequency array configurations.
Currently, 256 antennas have been installed and are operating at the main site. Additionally, 64 antennas have been deployed across two outriggers located in central Taiwan and on Green Island. These arrays have been actively observing for some time, with known pulsars being detected on a daily basis.
