1. An FP5 RTD programme Participants: University of Manchester: UK
CONTRACT VALUE: € 1.5 Million
Duration: 36 months
1Nov 2001  31Oct 2004
Participants:
University of Manchester: UK
(Coordinator: P. Wilkinson)
Istituto di Radioastronomia: ITALY
(CNR)
Stichting ASTRON: NETHERLANDS
Nicholas Copernicus University
Torun: POLAND
CSIRO/Australia Telescope National
Facility: AUSTRALIA

2. Focal-plane
Arrays for
Radio
Astronomy (thanks to I. Browne)
Design
Access and
Yield

3. The FARADAY Drivers:
Radio astronomy receivers are constructed out of discrete components expensive in manpower radio telescopes often only equipped with one/two receivers at a given frequency .
If receivers can be fabricated more cheaply (via integration) multiple-beam (array) systems should become the norm
 existing telescopes can collect data much more quickly
 if these data can be easily analysed  a wider range of astronomers can gain access to observing time on the leading facilities.

4. At the heart of FARADAY is the development of various complex monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) in InP and GaAs
Sub-project 1: Horn arrays for continuum surveys at ~30 GHz.
Main deliverable: 8-horn prototype continuum receiver array
Sub-project 2: Horn arrays for spectroscopy in the band GHz
Main deliverable: 5-horn prototype heterodyne receiver array

5. A 100 beam horn array at the focus of the Torun 32m telescope
                                  
A 100 beam horn array at the focus of the Torun 32m telescope
(one medium-term goal, via national funding)
A beam spectroscopic horn array
on the 64m Sardinia telescope is another
medium-term goal

6. Sub-project 3: Actively-phased arrays at 2-5 GHz for use at the
focus of large radio telescopes
Multiple beams can be synthesised and steered electronically.
The long-term aims are:
to improve the efficiency of individual telescopes (by correcting
surface errors)
to open up the widest possible field-of-view (by sampling the field
in the entire focal volume).
The FARADAY deliverables are a 16-element 2-beam prototype array to work in the frequency range 2.5 to 5 GHz.

7. Sub-project 4: Development of flexible software tools for the acquisition and analysis of data from continuum horn arrays
Using AIPS++: ideally all single-dish observing software “unified”
data products designed for archiving and Virtual Observatories
Status of FARADAY: all 4 projects well underway
End-of-first-year meeting: November at CSIRO/ATNF

8. FARADAY deliverables will both:
- enhance the existing European infrastructure
- contribute to the next generation of international projects:
The continuum source surveys: Interpretation of ESA Planck Surveyor data; target and calibration sources for ALMA
The spectroscopic surveys: census of the galactic environment complementing data from ALMA etc.
The phased array R&D is a step in Europe's R&D for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)

9. Lesson 1) Don’t under estimate management overheads!
Pre-contract negotiations with Commission
Consortium Agreement (with potential commercial implications)
Intellectual Property issues (with potential commercial implications)
Non-disclosure Agreements (with potential commercial implications)
Additional Agreements (between the partners)
Working with a self-financing partner (Australia)
Lesson 2) We need to be able to source state-of-the-art
microwave components (InP) from within Europe
(USA  end-use restrictions)

10. WHERE NEXT?: Joint Research Projects within an I3
Development of (cooled/HTSC) phased arrays for operation at deci- and centimetric wavelengths at the foci of radio telescopes.
- potential commercial applications
Further development of large horn array receivers for mm (and sub-mm?) wavelengths (i.e. shorter than FARADAY)
Continued software development for multiple-beam operations with single telescopes.