  Radio astronomy observations in the coming decade will require new levels of
sensitivity while mapping large regions of space with much greater efficiency
than is achieved with current telescopes. This requires new instrumentation
with the greatest achievable sensitivity, dynamic range, and field of view.
Receiver noise is quickly approaching fundamental limits at most radio
wavelengths, so significant gains in sensitivity can only be made by increasing
collecting area. Jointly, these requirements suggest using large arrays of
smaller antennas, or many moderate-size antennas equipped with multi-beam
arrays. The challenge is to develop receivers and wide bandwidth data transport
systems which are lower cost, more compact, more reliable, lower weight, and
more reproducible than the best current systems, with no compromise to
performance. This can be achieved with a greater degree of component
integration, extensive use of digital signal processing and transport, and
replacement of functions currently performed in bulky waveguide and coaxial
cable components with digital arithmetic and thin optical fibers. In this white
paper, we outline the complete redesign and re-optimization of receiver
architecture to take advantage of the latest advancements in commercial
technology. This involves the seamless integration of the conversions from RF
to baseband, from analog to digital, and from copper to fiber within a single
receiver module.
