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arXiv · 2408.09502

The Electrical Design of a Membrane Antenna for Lunar-based Low-frequency Radio Telescope

Suonanben·Fengquan Wu·Kai He·Shijie Sun·Wei Zhou·Minquan Zhou·Cong Zhang·Jiaqin Xu·Qisen Yan·Shenzhe Xu·Jiacong Zhu·Zhao Wang·Ke Zhang·Haitao Miao·Jixia Li·Yougang Wang·Tianlu Chen·Xuelei Chen
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Abstract

Detecting primordial fluctuations from the cosmic dark ages requires extremely large low-frequency radio telescope arrays deployed on the far side of the Moon. The antenna of such an array must be lightweight, easily storable and transportable, deployable on a large scale, durable, and capable of good electrical performance. A membrane antenna is an excellent candidate to meet these criteria. We study the design of a low-frequency membrane antenna for a lunar-based low-frequency (<30 MHz) radio telescope constructed from polyimide film widely used in aerospace applications, owing to its excellent dielectric properties and high stability as a substrate material. We first design and optimize an antenna in free space through dipole deformation and coupling principles, then simulate an antenna on the lunar surface with a simple lunar soil model, yielding an efficiency greater than 90% in the range of 12-19 MHz and greater than 10% in the range of 5-35 MHz. The antenna inherits the omni-directional radiation pattern of a simple dipole antenna in the 5-30 MHz frequency band, giving a large field of view and allowing detection of the 21 cm global signal when used alone. A demonstration prototype is constructed, and its measured electrical property is found to be consistent with simulated results using |S11| measurements. This membrane antenna can potentially fulfill the requirements of a lunar low-frequency array, establishing a solid technical foundation for future large-scale arrays for exploring the cosmic dark ages.

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Suonanben, Fengquan Wu, Kai He, Shijie Sun, Wei Zhou, Minquan Zhou, Cong Zhang, Jiaqin Xu, Qisen Yan, Shenzhe Xu, Jiacong Zhu, Zhao Wang, Ke Zhang, Haitao Miao, Jixia Li, Yougang Wang, Tianlu Chen, Xuelei Chen. 2024-08-18. The Electrical Design of a Membrane Antenna for Lunar-based Low-frequency Radio Telescope. https://doi.org/10.61977/ati2024023

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