Modernized solar radio spectrograph in the L band based on software defined radio

Abstract

The paper presents the concept, implementation, and test operation of a modernized solar radio spectrograph for an investigation of the solar emission and solar bursts in radio frequency bands. Besides having a strong diagnostic significance for studying the flare energy release, the solar radio bursts can also cause strong interference for radio communication and navigation systems. The current spectrograph for the Ondrejov observatory (Astronomical Institute of Czech Academy of Sciences) was modernized by using a direct-conversion receiver connected to a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) for the fast Fourier transform (FFT) spectrum estimation and put into the test operation. The higher time and frequency resolution and lower noise in comparison with the existing analog instrument were reached by the implementation of the latest optimal signal processing methods. To reduce the costs for such modernization, the operating frequency range was divided into four sub-bands of bandwidth 250 MHz, which brings another benefit of greater scalability. The first observations obtained by the new spectrograph and their comparison with the analog device are presented in the paper with future steps to put the spectrograph into the regular operation.