Electromagnetic Characterization of Cantenna-Based Arrays for Low-Cost Radio Interferometry at 1.42 GHz

Electromagnetic Characterization of Cantenna-Based Arrays for Low-Cost Radio Interferometry at 1.42 GHz | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Electromagnetic Characterization of Cantenna-Based Arrays for Low-Cost Radio Interferometry at 1.42 GHz Jemima Enyonam Kwakuyi, Linus Kweku Labik, Furgurson Dawuda Abubakari Awuni, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9508324/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Low-cost interferometric systems offer a pathway toward accessible radio astronomy through high-resolution measurements free of capital-intensive single-dish instruments. This work presents an electromagnetic characterisation of a cantenna-based system applied to small-N interferometric array configurations using Altair FEKO simulations. At 1.42 GHz, single-element and multi-element arrays (2-5 elements) were modelled to assess far-field gain sidelobe behaviour, and beamwidth. The simulated single-element gain is 14.286 dBi, with a half-power beamwidth of ≈ 30◦, consistent with theoretical aperture estimates. The RTL-SDR gain setting of 25.4 dB applied in the TTRT system represents the optimal receiver configuration and is not directly related to antenna gain. Array configurations show considerable enhancement in angular resolution with beamwidths of ∼ 1°–4° at baselines up to 10 m, consistent with the interferometric scaling relation θ ≈ λ/Bmax. These improvements are accompanied by increased sidelobe levels and the formation of grating lobes due to sparse aperture sampling and inter-element spacings exceeding the λ/2 criterion. Analysis of the uv-coverage demonstrates that partial spatial-frequency sampling leads directly to elevated sidelobe structure and degraded beam quality. The results indicate that low-cost cantenna arrays can record the first-order electromagnetic behaviour of interferometric systems and that the array geometry and spatial-frequency sampling play a vital role in determining performance. This work develops a physically grounded foundation for the development of scalable, accessible interferometric platforms for radio astronomy in resource-constrained environments. These findings provide a route to scalable and accessible interferometric instrumentation to new radio astronomy sectors. radio interferometry aperture synthesis cantenna arrays electromagnetic simulation antenna arrays sidelobes uv-coverage beamforming low-cost instrumentation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files TTRTSCRIPTMarch2022final.docx arrayconfigs.ipynb FEKOfiles.zip Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 03 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 28 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 25 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 23 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9508324","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":633723033,"identity":"cde57f9b-d855-4768-837b-2b9e76b06043","order_by":0,"name":"Jemima Enyonam Kwakuyi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jemima","middleName":"Enyonam","lastName":"Kwakuyi","suffix":""},{"id":633723034,"identity":"cefb9bbc-5efd-4f69-a0a3-b6ae5c315ea7","order_by":1,"name":"Linus Kweku 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This work presents an electromagnetic characterisation of a cantenna-based system applied to small-N interferometric array configurations using Altair FEKO simulations. At 1.42 GHz, single-element and multi-element arrays (2-5 elements) were modelled to assess far-field gain sidelobe behaviour, and beamwidth.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe simulated single-element gain is 14.286 dBi, with a half-power beamwidth of ≈ 30◦, consistent with theoretical aperture estimates. The RTL-SDR gain setting of 25.4 dB applied in the TTRT system represents the optimal receiver configuration and is not directly related to antenna gain. Array configurations show considerable enhancement in angular resolution with beamwidths of ∼ 1°–4° at baselines up to 10 m, consistent with the interferometric scaling relation θ ≈ λ/Bmax.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese improvements are accompanied by increased sidelobe levels and the formation of grating lobes due to sparse aperture sampling and inter-element spacings exceeding the λ/2 criterion. Analysis of the uv-coverage demonstrates that partial spatial-frequency sampling leads directly to elevated sidelobe structure and degraded beam quality.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results indicate that low-cost cantenna arrays can record the first-order electromagnetic behaviour of interferometric systems and that the array geometry and spatial-frequency sampling play a vital role in determining performance. This work develops a physically grounded foundation for the development of scalable, accessible interferometric platforms for radio astronomy in resource-constrained environments. 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