Evaluation of the ALMA Prototype Antennas

Details Evaluation of the ALMA Prototype Antennas Evaluation of the ALMA Prototype Antennas

2006-09-12

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609329v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

83 pages, 36 figures, AASTex format, to appear in PASP September 2006 issue

Scientific paper

10.1086/508298

The ALMA North American and European prototype antennas have been evaluated by a variety of measurement systems to quantify the major performance specifications. Nearfield holography was used to set the reflector surfaces to 17 microns RMS. Pointing and fast switching performance was determined with an optical telescope and by millimeter wavelength radiometry, yielding 2 arcsec absolute and 0.6 arcsec offset pointing accuracies. Path length stability was measured to be less than or approximately equal to 20 microns over 10 minute time periods using optical measurement devices. Dynamical performance was studied with a set of accelerometers, providing data on wind induced tracking errors and structural deformation. Considering all measurements made during this evaluation, both prototype antennas meet the major ALMA antenna performance specifications.

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