VLBA Station Data Path

This sub-section describes the instrumentation that collects and amplifies radio-frequency (RF) radiation from a source, converts, and transmits it to the station control building.  Napier et al. (1994) includes further information on most of the following aspects.

The antenna brings the RF signals to a focus at one of ten feeds.  The main reflector is a 25-m diameter shaped figure of revolution with a focal-length-to-diameter ratio of 0.354.   A 3.5-m diameter Cassegrain subreflector with a shaped asymmetric figure is used at observing wavelengths shorter than 30 cm, while the prime focus is used at longer wavelengths.  The antenna features a wheel-and-track mount, with an advanced-design reflector support structure.  Antenna motions are relatively rapid for an antenna of this size, to facilitate rapid source changes: 30° per minute in elevation and 90° per minute in azimuth.

The feed couples free-space electromagnetic waves into waveguides for transmission to the receiver system. Feeds at observing wavelengths shorter than 30 cm are located on a ring at the offset Cassegrain focus, and are selected by rotation of the subreflector with a maximum transition time of about 20 seconds. A frequency-selective dichroic system enables simultaneous 13/4-cm observations. The 90- and 50-cm feeds are crossed dipoles mounted on the subreflector near prime focus; simultaneous 90/50-cm observations are possible.

The polarizer extracts orthogonal circularly-polarized signals, which are routed separately to dual receivers.  In receiver wavelength bands shorter than 30 cm, the polarizer is cooled to cryogenic temperatures.

The receiver amplifies the signal. Most VLBA receivers use HFET (Heterostructure Field Effect Transistor) amplifiers at a physical temperature of 15 K, but the 90- and 50-cm receivers use GaAsFETs (Gallium Arsenide FETs) at room temperature. All receivers produce dual-polarization outputs, in opposite hands of circular polarization.

The IF converter mixes the receiver output signals with the first LO generated by a front end synthesizer. Two IF bands between 512 and 1024 MHz are output by each converter, one in each sense of circular polarization. The same LO signal is used for mixing with both polarizations in most cases. However, the 4 cm IF converter has a special mode that allows both output signals to be connected to the RCP output of the receiver and to use separate LO signals, thereby allowing the use of spanned bandwidths exceeding 512 MHz. Also, the 90 cm and 50 cm signals are combined and transmitted on the same IFs. The 50 cm signals are not frequency converted, while the 90 cm signals are upconverted to 827 MHz before output.

Four IF cables, designated A, B, C, D, carry the IF signals from the antenna vertex room to the station control building. Normally only two IFs are in use at a time, with the signals from each IF converter transmitted via A and C, or B and D; by convention, RCP is normally carried by IFs A and B, and LCP by C and D. However, switching is available to support several 4-IF configurations needed for special cases. These include dual-polarization observations at two arbitrary frequencies anywhere within the 4-8 GHz range of the new 6-cm receiver, and combinations of dual IF outputs from both the 13- and 4-cm receivers (using the dichroic system described in the paragraph on feeds above), or the 90- and 50-cm receivers.

Essential auxiliary instrumentation, required to make simultaneous observations feasible at VLBA stations separated by thousands of kilometers, is described in this sub-section.

A hydrogen maser provides an ultra-stable frequency reference at each VLBA station.  Its standard signals, at 100 MHz and 5 MHz, and multiplied versions thereof, are used throughout the station electronics, both in the antenna and in the station building.

The front end synthesizer generates reference signals to convert the receiver output from RF to IF, with lock points at (n× 500) ± 100 MHz (for n an integer).  Output frequencies range between 2.1 and 15.9 GHz. There are 3 such synthesizers, each of which is locked to the maser. One synthesizer is used for most frequency bands, but two are used at 1 cm, at 7 mm, 3 mm, and for the 4 cm wideband mode.

VLBA stations support several different types of calibration measurements.

Two calibration signals are injected near the beginning of the primary data path, and detected elsewhere in the VLBA system, with derived corrections applied in data analysis:

The switched-noise system injects well calibrated, broadband noise, switched on-off in a 50% duty cycle at 80 Hz.  This noise signal is synchronously detected in the RDBE, to provide a time-tagged system-temperature table that is delivered with the primary fringe visibility data.  Application of these measurements for amplitude calibration is discussed separately.

The pulse-cal system injects a series of pulses at intervals of 1.0 or 0.2 microseconds, to generate monochromatic, phase-stable tones, spaced at multiples of 1 MHz or 5 MHz.  The tones are detected in the VLBA DiFX correlator.  Application of these measurements for phase calibration is discussed separately.

There is also a round trip cable calibration scheme that monitors the length of the signal cables, to enable corrections for temperature and pointing induced variations.

The RDBE replaces much of the VLBA's original analog signal processing in the station control building.  The baseband converters, in particular, are eliminated by sampling directly from the IF outputs of each station's receivers, with 8-bit precision.  All subsequent processing is performed digitally.  For clarity in the following descriptions , two items of essential VLBA terminology are defined here:

An "IF" refers to one of a maximum of four 512-MHz wide intermediate-frequency analog signals transmitted from the receiver(s) to the RDBE.  Most receivers provide two IFs, in opposite circular polarizations.  However, four IFs are available to support specialized observing modes at some wavelengths: two dual-polarization pairs, at arbitrary frequencies within the full range of the new 6-cm receiver; or from different receivers in 13/4-cm or 90/50-cm dual-receiver operation.

A "channel" refers to a single contiguous frequency range (of any bandwidth), observed in a single polarization, that is sampled, filtered, and recorded as a separate entity.  This approach is essential for the VLBA, where capabilities are fundamentally limited by the overall data-transmission bandwidth.

'RDBE' is an acronym for "ROACH Digital Backend''.  ROACH, in turn, refers to the FPGA-based central signal processing board ("Reconfigurable Open Architecture Computing Hardware'') that was developed in a collaboration among NRAO, the South African KAT project, and the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) at UC Berkeley.  In addition to the ROACH, the RDBE includes an input analog level control module, a sampler developed by CASPER, and a synthesizer board generates the 1024-MHz sample clock. RDBEs accept two 512-1024 MHz IF inputs, and deliver packetized output via a 10G Ethernet interface.  Each VLBA station is equipped with two RDBE units.

Currently, two separate "observing systems" are available within the VLBA's RDBE.  Some suggestions for choosing between these two options, where both are possible, follow the functional outlines below.

PFB:  The RDBE's initial observing system, in regular use for scientific observations since 2012 February 19, implements a polyphase filterbank (PFB) digital signal-processing algorithm.  It produces sixteen fixed-bandwidth 32-MHz channels within a single RDBE unit, which can be selected flexibly between two input IFs, and can be placed at 32-MHz steps along the entire IF frequency range. Some typical selection modes include [a] a compact dual-polarization configuration of eight contiguous 32-MHz channels at matching frequencies in each polarization; [b] a spanned-band dual-polarization configuration, with eight 32-MHz channels spaced every 64 MHz in each polarization; and [c] a single-polarization configuration of 16 channels, contiguous across the entire width of one IF.  (In case [c], one end channel will not lie within the IF band, and does not produce usable data.)  The selected channels are requantized at two bits per Nyquist sample and output in a packetized stream at a total data rate of 2.048 Gbps (referred to subsequently as "2 Gbps'').  An important auxiliary function, detection of the switched broadband noise calibration signal, is also supported by the PFB.

DDC: A newer observing system, supporting a wide range of bandwidths, implements a digital downconverter (DDC) algorithm.  A total of 1, 2, or 4 channels are available within a single RDBE unit; 4 or 8 channels are available using both RDBEs.  Available bandwidths range downward from 128 MHz to 1 MHz by factors of two; recording rate limitations restrict the 128-MHz bandwidth to a maximum of 4 channels.  All channels must use the same bandwidth within an observing scan.  Channels can be selected flexibly among up to four input IFs, and in either sideband.  Tuning of individual channels can be set in steps of 15.625 kHz, although 250-kHz steps are recommended when compatibility with legacy systems is required.  Channels may not cross IF zone boundaries at 640 and 896 MHz.  Each channel is requantized at two bits per Nyquist sample and output in a packetized stream, at a total data rate ranging from 4 Mbps to 2 Gbps.  The DDC also incorporates an advanced switched-noise detection methodology.

Suggestions for Observing System Selection: Wideband science will be possible using either the PFB observing system, at its fixed 2048 Mbps data rate, or the DDC system at 2048 Mbps or lower rates.  Both systems provide output at two bits per Nyquist sample.  The primary instrumental differences are in the numbers and bandwidths of channels.  The PFB's many narrower channels may be advantageous in avoiding spectral ranges impacted by interference, particularly in the 18-cm band.  On the other hand, the smaller number of wider-band channels available in the DDC may simplify data analysis in some cases.

Spectroscopic and other narrow-band observations will generally be best supported by the DDC system, which incorporates scientifically equivalent counterparts for all modes of the VLBA legacy system, and extends these to wider bandwidths.

Observations using any of the 4-IF capabilities require the dual-RDBE capability of the DDC.

Conversion of Legacy Schedules to RDBE/DDC: A separate web page describes the relatively straightforward conversion of SCHED “keyin” files applicable to the VLBA's legacy data system, to use the DDC system instead.   It is designed primarily for users with some VLBA experience.

A software-based network switch, purchased from XCube Research and Development, is an essential element of the data path at each VLBA station.  Its primary functions are to merge the packet streams from each of the two RDBE units into a single stream that is sent to the Mark 5C recorder, and to regulate the timing of these packets so as not to overflow the Mark 5C's input buffer.

Other switching and real-time data analysis functions may be added as part of future developments.

The VLBA's data transmission system comprises the recorder units at the stations, playback units at the correlator, and the magnetic disk modules that are shipped between those units.  The Mark 5C recording system was developed jointly by NRAO, Haystack Observatory, and Conduant Corporation.  It closely resembles the Mark 5A version used previously by the VLBA, and the Mark 5B used at some other observatories.  In particular, identical disk modules are used.  However, Mark 5C is a packet-based system, which allows a more straightforward functionality than its predecessors.   It simply records the payload of each 10G Ethernet packet originating in the RDBE, without imposing any special recording format.  All formatting of the observed data — most essentially, the precision time tag — is internal to the packet payloads, which are transmitted directly from recorder to playback by the Mark 5C system.  Mark 5B formatting is used internally by the RDBE's PFB personality, but the newer VLBI Data Interchange Format (VDIF) is now used in the DDC personality.

Each Mark 5C unit accommodates two removable modules, each in turn comprising eight commercial disk drives.  As used on the VLBA, these modules are recorded sequentially at a maximum rate of 2 Gbps, matching the current maximum RDBE output rate.  Available recording media are expected to support the highest data rates for approximately half of all observing hours.

Further information on the Mark 5C system is available in the Sensitivity Upgrade memo series, and in the Haystack Mark 5 series.