The scientific motivation is reviewed for a next generation radio observatory
operating at frequencies between about 200 MHz and 2 GHz with about 2 orders of
magnitude greater sensitivity than that which is currently available, together
with sub-arcsecond angular resolution. Instrumental concepts for the telescope
are discussed, highlighting the role of mass produced receiver elements and
digital electronics in increasing cost-effectiveness while actively reducing
the instrument's sensitivity to radio frequency interference.Comment: 13 page LaTeX requires crckapb.sty and psfig.sty, 7 compressed and
tarred postscript figures (560kB) available at
ftp://ftp.nfra.nl/pub/outgoing/rbraun/skai/figs.tar.Z Complete compressed
postscript paper (615kB) available at
ftp://ftp.nfra.nl/pub/outgoing/rbraun/skai/paper.ps.Z To appear in "The
Westerbork Synthesis Telescope, It's 25th Anniversary and Beyond" Eds.
E.Raimond and R.Genee (Kluwer, Dordrecht
