| Name: Samruddhi Rohokale |
| Affiliation: Udaipur solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory, Udaipur |
| Conference ID: ASI2026_858 |
| Title: Early Development of the Multi-Feed Antenna and RF Front-End for ARUN-SSW |
| Abstract Type: Poster |
| Abstract Category: Facilities, Technologies and Data science |
| Author(s) and Co-Author(s) with Affiliation: Samruddhi Rohokale(Udaipur Solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory, Udaipur, Rajasthan-313001, India), Harsha Avinash Tanti(Udaipur Solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory, Udaipur, Rajasthan-313001, India), Anshu Kumari(Udaipur Solar Observatory, Physical Research Laboratory, Udaipur, Rajasthan-313001, India) |
| Abstract: Solar radio emission in the centimeter–decimeter bands carries crucial information about magnetic restructuring, plasma heating, and energetic particle acceleration in the chromosphere and low corona. To enable high-cadence monitoring of these processes, the ARUN-SSW initiative includes the development of an indigenous wideband antenna and RF front-end optimized for solar observations in the 1–18 GHz range. The front-end is intended to provide stable, low-noise analogue reception for both disk and limb imaging, addressing the scarcity of microwave solar facilities in the Asian sector.
The initial design focuses on an 11-feed antenna array mounted at the focal plane of the ARUN-SSW dish, enabling multi-directional sampling and improved instantaneous coverage needed for rapid solar snapshot imaging. Each feed element is supported by a dedicated RF chain incorporating band-selection filters, low-noise amplification suitable for integration with high-speed digital backends. Electromagnetic simulations are guiding the optimization of return loss, S-parameters, mutual coupling, and beam shape across the wide operating band. Prototype feed elements are currently being fabricated and evaluated to assess VSWR, inter-element isolation, and noise performance under strong solar signals.
These early front-end developments provide the essential analogue foundation for ARUN-SSW, ensuring that the system can reliably capture wideband solar radio signatures and support the next stages of digital signal processing and imaging.
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