Verification Measurements of the Karoo Array Timing System: A Laser Radar Based Time Transfer System

An optical fiber based laser radar time transfer system has been developed for the 64-dish MeerKAT radiointerferometer telescope project to provide accurate atomic time to the receivers of the telescope system. This time transfer system is called the Karoo Array Timing System (KATS). Calibration of the time transfer system is essential to ensure that time is accurately transferred to the digitisers that form part of the receivers. Frequency domain reflectometry via vector network analysers is also used to verify measurements taken using time interval counters. This paper details the progress that is made in the verification measurements of the system in order to ensure that time, accurate to within a few nanoseconds of the Universal Coordinated Time (UTC, is available at the point where radio signals from astronomical sources are received. This capability enables world class transient and timing studies with a compact radio interferometer, which has inherent advantages over large single dish radio-telescopes, in observing the transient sky.