Speaker
Please indicate whether<br>this abstract may be<br>published online<br>(Yes / No)
Yes
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD, N/A)?
PhD
Main supervisor (name and email)<br>and his / her institution
Prof T.B. Gibbon
tim.gibbon@nmmu.ac.za
NMMU
Apply to be<br> considered for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
yes
Abstract content <br> (Max 300 words)<br><a href="http://events.saip.org.za/getFile.py/access?resId=0&materialId=0&confId=34" target="_blank">Formatting &<br>Special chars</a>
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project aims to address the unsolved mysteries of fundamental astrophysics and physics. MeerKAT, the South African precursor to the SKA consisting of 64 interlinked receptors will be incorporated into SKA phase 1. A total of 170 km buried optical fibre will be used to aggregate large volumes of astrological data from each dish within the MeerKAT antenna array to the Karoo Array Processing Building (KAPB). The maximum length of fibre to be installed between the KAPB and an individual receptor is 12 km. Ultra high, precise time and frequency reference clock tones will be disseminated across the buried fibre to the digitizers located on each antenna, thereby providing phase coherence amongst the relevant MeerKAT telescopes. Temperature variations and external environmental conditions may have a detrimental effect on the phase stability of the optical signal transmitted along the fibre. This paper reports on a power budget analysis conducted of various passive components within the optical fibre link, of a phase noise compensation scheme using a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) actuating system. Furthermore, -18.1 dBm and -25.7 dBm were measured at the receiver side of the one way (12 km) and round trip (24 km) optical fibre transmission links respectively. PIN and APD photodiodes, with receiver sensitivities of -18 dBm and -25 dBm, were found to be suitable for optical detection along the one way and round trip links respectively. Using an APD receiver rules out the possibility of incorporating an erbium doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) into phase noise compensation scheme thereby reducing the cost and complexity of the system.
Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)?
No
