On the left, a design of a receiver is shown. An arrow to the right leads to the built receiver. Another arrow in turn leads to 66 receivers. Below, a cross-section of the receiver and two graphs can be seen.

MeerKAT Band 5b Receiver

66 receivers in only 18 months.

A detailed diagram outlining the layout of the receiver systems, predominantly in text. — Detailed layout of the receiver systems including analog signal chain, noise source and all control electronics.

Detailed layout of the receiver systems including analog signal chain, noise source and all control electronics.

Based upon an existing design of a CX-band receiver for our SKA prototype dish, we were able to compete on a call for tender from INAF for the build-up of 66 MeerKAT band 5b receivers (8.3–15.4 GHz) on very short notice and with a highly ambitious timeline of only 18 month in total.

A cross section of a receiver, labelling every element. — The receiver is composed of three major building blocks: The cryostat assembly, the receiver electronics box, and the support-frame.

The receiver is composed of three major building blocks: The cryostat assembly, the receiver electronics box, and the support-frame.

The MPIfR handed in a competitive proposal including a nearly production-ready design, all in the span of a single month. The design was finalized at MPIfR’s own risk during the tender evaluation process. Once the tender had been won, the project officially started on July 2nd 2024 with a kick-off meeting in Bonn. This meeting already served as CDR and cleared the way for immediate prototype production. The Prototype passed FAT in November 2024, and was shipped to South Africa immediately after. Site acceptance took place in December 2024 and the production go-ahead was given in January 2025. Since then, we are right on track to meet the ambitious delivery schedule of the project.

The receiver is composed of three major building blocks: The cryostat assembly, the receiver electronics box, and the support-frame that holds it together and provides the mounting references. Its entire electrical system is hermetically shielded to comply with the strict EMC regulations of the MeerKAT site. Additionally, the receiver can be operated fully autonomously and needs only power, vacuum-pump supply, helium supply, and a network connection.

A graph showing an accending series of lines. — RFI measurements performed on the prototype within our reverberation chamber over 60 s, ranging from 50 to 6000 MHz at a resolution bandwidth of 0.5 Hz. Fore- and background measurement with 1爉 spectral limit line summary (only maximum of background trace is shown). Result: No emission from the receiver could be detected.

RFI measurements performed on the prototype within our reverberation chamber over 60 s, ranging from 50 to 6000 MHz at a resolution bandwidth of 0.5 Hz. Fore- and background measurement with 1爉 spectral limit line summary (only maximum of background trace is shown). Result: No emission from the receiver could be detected.

MeerKAT Band 5b Receiver

The Project Group

The Receiver Systems Group

The Systems Operation Group

The Technology Group

MeerKAT Band 5b Receiver

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