Ultra-wideband feed systems for the EVN and SKA - evaluated for VGOS

The design of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project for radio astronomy is now materializing at a rapid speed; the EU Horizon 2020 RadioNet project BRoad-bAND (BRAND) has the ambition to deliver a decade bandwidth receiver for EVN. The ultra-wideband quad-ridge flared horn (QRFH) feed systems developed for these projects show good performance within the geodetic VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS) frame due to the overlapping frequency bands and reflector geometries. We estimate, through simulation, system equivalent flux density (SEFD) of the two feed systems in the VGOS reflector and compare the it to the existing system installed on one of the 13.2 m diameter reflectors of the Onsala twin telescope (OTT). The two frequency bands analyzed cover 1.5−15.5 GHz and 4.6−24 GHz. Both systems show SEFD better than 1000 Jy over large parts of resp. frequency band - comparable to the 3−18 GHz feed systems. For the SKA QRFH over 4.6−24 GHz, the water vapor absorption line at 22 GHz is within the operational band, therefore we study the application of water-vapor radiometry in line-of-sight of the telescope.