FIDA3: A novel active array design for the mid-frequency range of the Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio-telescope is projected to become a reality in 2020. Nowadays, many research groups are investigating the technologies that will be necessary to build this enormous instrument. The reference design of the SKA establishes that the mid-frequency range (from 300 MHz to 1 GHz) will be covered by planar aperture arrays. FIDA3 is an active array prototype formed by bunny-ear antennas, whose technology is a potential candidate for the mid-range of the SKA. One of the main features of the proposed solution is its differential nature, which avoids the use of passive baluns, although it requires some special considerations during the design and measurement processes.