Daily Image
17-07-2014Apertif QDR correlator ready for testing
| Submitter: | DESP |
| Description: | Recently, four UniBoards have been installed in Westerbork for APERTIF. These UniBoards are configured as correlators and are able to correlate 28 beams over the full 300 MHz bandwidth of 3 WSRT dishes. The correlator image for the UniBoard is called the Quick and Dirty Correlator (QDR). It was realized in only half a year thanks to the extensive usage of reusable blocks from the Astron firmware library. This FPGA-based correlator handles a data input rate of 480 Gbit/s which is the highest input rate for a correlator ever built by Astron. Note that the final Apertif correlator will be able to handle 8 times more data: 3.8 Tbit/s (see daily image 31-5-2015). The QDR Correlator finds its limitations in the maximum number of inputs (= 3) and the fact that it processes 781 kHz subbands instead of 10kHz channels. It will be used for the commissioning of Apertif Alpha III. The picture shows the correlator with its 48 fibres. The fibres originate at the WSRT dishes and carry the beamlets that are produced by the beamformer racks. The correlator is placed inside the HF-cabine in the main building at the WSRT. |
| Copyright: | Astron |
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