In-Situ Verification of Aperture-Array Polarimetric Performance by Means of a Micro UAV: Preliminary Results on the LOFAR Low Band Antenna

In order to assess the polarimetric performance of phased arrays for radio astronomy, the Intrinsic Crosspolarization Ratio (IXR) can be adopted as a figure of merit. An innovative technique employing an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to measure the IXR of low-frequency instruments (VHF/UHF bands) has been recently exploited on a station of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope. We present results from a spin flight measurement demonstrating 35 dB IXR in boresight, a value close to the performance limits of the current measurement system.