The Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) is a radio telescope with a primary mirror of 64 meters of the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF). With the co-financing obtained from the PON FSE FESR «Research and Innovation 2014–2020» INAF intends to complete the technological developments necessary for the full exploitation of the SRT up to the maximum achievable frequency. Specifically, INAF intends to acquire the following microwave receivers: Q-band (33-50 GHz, multibeam), 3-band (18-26 GHz, 33-50 GHz, simultaneous 80-116 GHz), W-band (75- 116 GHz, multibeam) and, the subject of this competitive dialogue, the millimetric chamber in the W band.
With note prot. n. 424 of 28.2.2018, the Ministry of Education, University and Research («MIUR») issued the «Notice for the granting of loans aimed at strengthening research infrastructures, in implementation of Action II.1 of the PON Research and Innovation 2014–2020 "(hereinafter also referred to as" Notice "). The Sardinia Radio Telescope was included in the Notice as a "research infrastructure" that can be subjected to upgrading, and in response to the Notice, the INAF presented the project proposal "PIR01_00010 - SRT_HighFreq - Strengthening of the Sardinia Radio Telescope for the study of 'Universe at high frequencies' ("Proposal"), articulated according to 9 "Achievement Objectives" (hereinafter also referred to as "OR").
Among these, the Implementation Objective 3, called "Supply of a millimeter chamber for the Gregorian fire of the Sardinia Radio Telescope", intends to complete SRT with the provision of a state-of-the-art millimeter chamber composed of an array of bolometric detectors, allowing this way the radio telescope can reach one of the most ambitious and important scientific goals for which it was built.
The new millimeter chamber required for SRT will have to be installed in the Gregorian fire and will have to be based on a new technology of cryogenically cooled detectors at a temperature below 0.1 K. In this way conditions will be reached in which the noise of the detectors is less than the noise photonic produced by atmospheric emission.
It is required that the millimeter chamber has hundreds of pixels, so that it can be used as an ideal tool to carry out diffuse radiation surveys. In optimal atmospheric conditions the atmospheric transmission at 116 GHz can be higher than 80%, it is therefore possible to make observations of extended sources that require very high resolution: the number of pixels observed simultaneously by the instrument and its sensitivity allow an unreachable survey speed otherwise.
Following the financing obtained, INAF needs to reach - through comparison with the market - the best solution to carry out not only the awarding in itself, from a juridical / technical point of view, but also to identify the most suitable design methods and solutions to manage supplies and services with a view to greater efficiency and innovation, achieving a significant modernization of the system in use.
Given the non-existence of integrated solutions already available on the market, considering the necessary design effort and the consequent difficulty, on the part of the contracting station, to establish both the best solution and the overall technical specifications with sufficient precision, INAF believes that the competitive dialogue is the most suitable institute for the selection of the supplier able to support the contracting station in achieving the objectives set for this tender.
The descriptive technical document contains, in a timely manner, the arguments on which the contracting station deems necessary a dialogue with the economic operators, who will be asked to propose technical solutions that allow the achievement of the indicated objectives. The solutions that will be presented may be based on different design approaches or on different technological choices.
Complete tender dossier, with free, unlimited and direct access to the internet address
http://eonstor.oa-cagliari.inaf.it/proffice/OR3-01_BOL/
E-mail address where the requests to participate should be sent:
inafoacagliari@pcert.postecert.it