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 (STARFIRE) will study the evolution of dusty galaxies with observations of the [CII] 158 μm 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 μm, 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.
@article{arxiv.1803.02470,
title = {Development of Aluminum LEKIDs for Balloon-Borne Far-IR Spectroscopy},
author = {S. Hailey-Dunsheath and A. C. M. Barlis and J. E. Aguirre and C. M. Bradford and J. G. Redford and T. S. Billings and H. G. LeDuc and C. M. McKenney and M. I. Hollister},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1803.02470},
year = {2018}
}
Comments
accepted for publication in Journal of Low Temperature Physics