ASTRON

What is the name of your institution/company?
ASTRON

What products or services do you offer?
ASTRON, part of the NWO institute organization, focuses on radio-astronomy research and technological innovation. The products and services offered by ASTRON include:

• Radio-astronomical facilities: ASTRON operates world-class radio observatories and provides access to advanced technologies for scientific research.
• Innovative technology development: ASTRON develops new technologies for radio astronomy and applies them in practice.
• Fundamental astronomical research: ASTRON conducts research on the universe through radio astronomy and supports the scientific community.
• EU-funded research: ASTRON participates in and leads EU-funded projects to develop new opportunities for the astronomical community.
• Technology transfer: ASTRON collaborates with commercial partners to make technological innovations in radio astronomy available to other industries.
• Open-source software development: ASTRON supports open-source software and fosters a culture of diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability.

Where are you active within the FNS program (program lines, work packages), and what is your contribution?

PL1: Task 1.1.3, Task 1.1.4, Task 1.1.5

Within FNS, we are building a receiver that can digitize incoming radio signals and synchronize multiple antennas. With housing and cooling, this receiver is weatherproof and can be placed directly at an antenna outdoors.

Why are you participating in the FNS program?

There is significant overlap between the technological challenges of 6G and those of modern radio telescopes. Synchronizing a large number of receivers is one example, and efficiently cooling computers and data centers is another.

The FNS program offers us a great opportunity to develop technology that can be used for both our radio telescopes and 6G.