Construction of the korean VLBI network (KVN)

Abstract

Korea's new VLBI project to construct the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) started in 2001, as a 7-year project that is fully funded by our government. We plan to build 3 new high-precision radio telescopes of 21-m diameter in 3 places in Korea, which will be exclusively used for VLBI observations. We will install the 2/8, 22 and 43 GHz HEMT receivers within 2007 as a first target, and later we will expand the receiving frequency up to 86 and 129 GHz for astronomical, geodetic, and earth science VLBI research. The millimeter-wave VLBI will be the ultimate goal of KVN. For the front-ends, we are going to install a multi-channel receiver system that employs low-pass filters within a quasi-optical beam transportation system. This receiver system will give reliable phase calibrations for millimeter-wave VLBI as well as enable simultaneous multi-frequency band observations. The hard-disk type new Mark 5 will be used as the main recorder of KVN. We have completed the design of the KVN DAS system of 2 Gsps sampling rate, which will use 4 data streams to meet the multi-channel requirement. A VERA type DAS modified for Mark 5 recorder is also under consideration. A new correlator project for KVN was recently approved from Korean government, and will start in the second half of 2004.