Design and Performance Analysis of a Low-Frequency Radio Astronomy Receiver System for Radio Observations

Low-frequency radio astronomy is essential for studying astrophysical phenomena such as solar activity, pulsar emissions, and the 21-cm signal. This paper presents a newly developed low-frequency digital receiving system that operates within the 1–350 MHz range, offering high sensitivity and precise time synchronization. The system incorporates an FPGA-based digital receiver, a GNSS-disciplined Rubidium atomic clock, and PCIe-based data transmission. Performance tests conducted at the Xinjiang and Yunnan Observatories have demonstrated its high time and frequency resolution. Future improvements will focus on optimizing FPGA resources and enhancing frequency resolution to improve weak signal detection.