The Allen Telescope Array

David R. DeBoer; William J. Welch; John Dreher; Jill Tarter; Leo Blitz; Michael Davis; Matt Fleming; Douglas Bock; Geoffrey Bower; John Lugten; G. Girmay-Keleta; Larry R. D'Addario; Gerry R. Harp; Rob Ackermann; Sander Weinreb; Greg Engargiola; Doug Thornton; Niklas Wadefalk

doi:10.1117/12.551737

28 September 2004 The Allen Telescope Array

David R. DeBoer, William J. Welch, John Dreher, Jill Tarter, Leo Blitz, Michael Davis, Matt Fleming, Douglas Bock, Geoffrey Bower, John Lugten, G. Girmay-Keleta, Larry R. D'Addario, Gerry R. Harp, Rob Ackermann, Sander Weinreb, Greg Engargiola, Doug Thornton, Niklas Wadefalk

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5489, Ground-based Telescopes; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.551737
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2004, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

The Allen Telescope Array, originally called the One Hectare Telescope (1hT) [1] will be a large array radio telescope whose novel characteristics will be a wide field of view (3.5 deg-GHz HPBW), continuous frequency coverage of 0.5 - 11 GHz, four dual-linear polarization output bands of 100 MHz each, four beams in each band, two 100 MHz spectral correlators for two of the bands, and hardware for RFI mitigation built in. Its scientific motivation is for deep SETI searches and, at the same time, a variety of other radio astronomy projects, including transient (e.g. pulsar) studies, HI mapping of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, Zeeman studies of the galactic magnetic field in a number of transitions, mapping of long chain molecules in molecular clouds, mapping of the decrement in the cosmic background radiation toward galaxy clusters, and observation of HI absorption toward quasars at redshifts up to z=2. The array is planned for 350 6.1-meter dishes giving a physical collecting area of about 10,000 square meters. The large number of components reduces the price with economies of scale. The front end receiver is a single cryogenically cooled MIMIC Low Noise Amplifier covering the whole band. The feed is a wide-band log periodic feed of novel design, and the reflector system is an offset Gregorian for minimum sidelobes and spillover. All preliminary and critical design reviews have been completed. Three complete antennas with feeds and receivers are under test, and an array of 33 antennas is under construction at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory for the end of 2004. The present plan is to have a total of about 200 antennas completed by the summer of 2006 and the balance of the array finished before the end of the decade.

Citation Download Citation

David R. DeBoer, William J. Welch, John Dreher, Jill Tarter, Leo Blitz, Michael Davis, Matt Fleming, Douglas Bock, Geoffrey Bower, John Lugten, G. Girmay-Keleta, Larry R. D'Addario, Gerry R. Harp, Rob Ackermann, Sander Weinreb, Greg Engargiola, Doug Thornton, and Niklas Wadefalk "The Allen Telescope Array", Proc. SPIE 5489, Ground-based Telescopes, (28 September 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.551737

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available