The Measurement and Analysis of System Noise Temperatures of the TM65m Radio Telescope at Low Frequency Bands1,2

Abstract

At first, the receiving system of the Tianma 65m radio telescope (TM65m in brief) and its noise characteristics at the L, S, C, and X four frequency bands are described. Then, a few measuring methods of system noise temperature are discussed, and the major factors affecting the noise temperature measurement are analyzed, including the errors caused by the non-linearity, feed network insertion loss, mismatch, and so on. With the Y-factor method the noise temperature of the noise source calibrated in the laboratory is verified, indicating that its accuracy attains ∼0.2K. Finally, the system noise temperatures actually measured at the four frequency bands and an analysis on the result are given.