Development of Aluminum LEKIDs for Balloon-Borne Far-IR Spectroscopy

We are developing lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) designed to achieve background-limited sensitivity for far-infrared (FIR) spectroscopy on a stratospheric balloon. The spectroscopic terahertz airborne receiver for far-infrared exploration will study the evolution of dusty galax...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of low temperature physics 2018-12, Vol.193 (5-6), p.968-975
Main Authors: Hailey-Dunsheath, S., Barlis, A. C. M., Aguirre, J. E., Bradford, C. M., Redford, J. G., Billings, T. S., LeDuc, H. G., McKenney, C. M., Hollister, M. I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Atomic structure
Balloon
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Circular waveguides
Condensed Matter Physics
Detectors
Dual polarization (waves)
Far infrared radiation
Far-infrared spectroscopy
Galactic evolution
Galaxies
Inductance
Infrared astronomy
Infrared spectroscopy
INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Kinetic inductance detector
Large format
Low temperature physics
Magnetic Materials
Magnetism
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Sensors
Silicon wafers
Spectrum analysis
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Summary:We are developing lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) designed to achieve background-limited sensitivity for far-infrared (FIR) spectroscopy on a stratospheric balloon. The spectroscopic terahertz airborne receiver for far-infrared exploration will study the evolution of dusty galaxies with observations of the [CII] 158 μ m and other atomic fine-structure transitions at z = 0.5 –1.5, both through direct observations of individual luminous infrared galaxies, and in blind surveys using the technique of line intensity mapping. The spectrometer will require large format ( ∼  1800 detectors) arrays of dual-polarization sensitive detectors with NEPs of 1 × 10 - 17 W Hz - 1 / 2 . The low-volume LEKIDs are fabricated with a single layer of aluminum (20-nm-thick) deposited on a crystalline silicon wafer, with resonance frequencies of 100–250 MHz. The inductor is a single meander with a linewidth of 0.4 μ m , patterned in a grid to absorb optical power in both polarizations. The meander is coupled to a circular waveguide, fed by a conical feedhorn. Initial testing of a small array prototype has demonstrated good yield and a median NEP of 4 × 10 - 18 W Hz - 1 / 2 .
ISSN:0022-2291
1573-7357
DOI:10.1007/s10909-018-1927-y