On the geometry of the Square Kilometer Array Mid-Frequency Aperture Array

This paper looks at the performance limits of reducing the total number of elements in a tightly coupled dense aperture arrays for radio astronomical applications particularly the case of the SKA-MFAA. It shows that by using a combination of triangular grid configuration and random thinning, a reduction of up to 20% of the total number of elements can be achieved without any significant sacrifice on performance. This has a major impact on reducing the cost since the number of elements is a main cost driver in such large array systems. The results are demonstrated through full wave simulation of the ORA array which is a major candidate for the SKA-MFAA.