Next generation digital backends for the GMRT

Abstract

:The GMRT Backend Group is in the process of developing wide-band digital backends as part of a major upgrade of the GMRT. The main requirements are for processing 400 MHz bandwidth signals from 30 antennas for interferometry and array mode operations, along with additional features like narrow band modes and RFI cancellation schemes. Both FPGA and GPU based designs have been explored and this paper presents the design and implementation details along with results from testing of prototype units. A comparison of the resources needed and performance achieved on FPGA and GPU based designs is presented, along with an extrapolation of these designs to a 30 station backend for the final GMRT system.