This work intends to give the state-of-the-art of our knowledge of the performance of LEKIDs at millimetre wavelengths (from 80 to 180~GHz). We evaluate their optical sensitivity under typical background conditions and their interaction with ionising particles. Two LEKID arrays, originally designed for ground-based applications and composed of a few hundred pixels each, operate at a central frequency of 100, and 150~GHz (Δν/ν about 0.3). Their sensitivities have been characterised in the laboratory using a dedicated closed-circle 100~mK dilution cryostat and a sky simulator, allowing for the reproduction of realistic, space-like observation conditions. The impact of cosmic rays has been evaluated by exposing the LEKID arrays to alpha particles (241Am) and X sources (109Cd) with a readout sampling frequency similar to the ones used for Planck HFI (about 200~Hz), and also with a high resolution sampling level (up to 2~MHz) in order to better characterise and interpret the observed glitches. In parallel, we have developed an analytical model to rescale the results to what would be observed by such a LEKID array at the second Lagrangian point.
@article{arxiv.1511.02652,
title = {Lumped element kinetic inductance detectors maturity for space-borne instruments in the range between 80 and 180 GHz},
author = {A. Catalano and A. Benoit and O. Bourrion and M. Calvo and G. Coiffard and A. D'Addabbo and J. Goupy and H. Le Sueur and J. Macìas-Pérez and A. Monfardini},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1511.02652},
year = {2016}
}