Technical Development

Digital Signal Processing

Signal processing is a fundamental key element of radio astronomy and comes into play in the entire measurement process. The innovative use of modern technologies is of particular importance here and forms the foundation for new observation and analysis methods and ultimately thus enables new scientific discoveries.

Five motifs side by side.
1. A receiver from above. The horn at the top emerges like a funnel from the base. A black box is attached to the right-hand side, with cables coming out of it.
2. Readout of various measured values as bars, waves, and levels. Measurements are displayed in GHz, ns, Kelvin, and mbar, among other units.
3. The MPG SKA Prototype telescope in the Karoo Desert in South Africa. The white telescope faces forward with its dish and stands out against a clear sky and bright desert ground.
4. A measuring device from the MPIfR laboratory showing a wave. Various tools are visible in the foreground.
5. Closeup of an EDGAR server cluster with black and yellow cables running above rows of fans.

Electronics Division

Welcome to the Electronics division of the MPIfR. more

The GREAT receiver installed onboard the airborne observatory SOFIA

Submillimeter Technology

Our mission is to provide state-of-the-art instrumentation for the detection of coherent and incoherent submillimeter radiation from space. We develop receivers and supporting hard- and software for ground-based, airborne and space observatories, and operate systems at novel telescopes like APEX.

VLBI Technology

The department supports the scientific department Radio Astronomy/VLBI (Anton Zensus) in all aspects which have to do with VLBI
• operating a VLBI software correlator on a High Performance Computer (HPC) Cluster
• development of VLBI data acquisition at the highest data rates
• developing VLBI for very short wavelengths of 1 mm
• developing software for adding the signals of all dishes of the ALMA array to a gigantic telescope for VLBI.