Research Gallery > Instrumentation Research

Research Gallery

Instrumentation Research

Index
Update [Login required]

The 7-element vs. 13-element AMiBA on the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii

Image Credit: Patrick Koch

The AMiBA project, observing at 3 mm wavelength, is an important initiative to develop our observational cosmology program in a very competitive field of science. This project has challenged several novel technological difficulties, such as the 16-GHz, wide-band analog correlator, an unprecedented size of Steward mount, and a 6-meter, detachable, composite-material platform.

The AMiBA is an international endeavor led by ASIAA, in collaboration with various laboratories and experts in the world. The receiver lab took on the technical driving role in this project. In November 2002, after two years of development, the ASIAA receiver team has successfully established the AMiBA prototype receiver system on the site of Mauna Loa Observatory, on the big island of Hawaii. In 2005, the telescope site infrastructure was completed, and the telescope mount was erected on Mauna Loa. The AMiBA 7-element was officially dedicated in Oct. 2006, and the 13-element, 1.2 meter full array was completed in 2010.