Single Pixel Performance of the Kinetic Inductance Detectors for the Terahertz Intensity Mapper

• Published in: Journal of low temperature physics Vol. 211; no. 5-6; pp. 197 - 206
• Main Authors: Janssen, R. M. J., Nie, R., Bumble, B., Liu, L.-J., Redford, J., Filippini, J. P., Bradford, C. M., Hailey-Dunsheath, S., Aguirre, J. E., Bracks, J. S., Corso, A. J., Fu, J., Groppi, C. E., Hoh, J., Keenan, R. P., Lowe, I. N., Marrone, D. P., Mauskopf, P. D., Trumper, I., Vieira, J. D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-06-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aluminum; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Detectors; Dual polarization (waves); Elementary excitations; Inductance; Low temperature physics; Magnetic Materials; Magnetism; Photons; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Sensors; Spectral resolution; Spectrometers; Star & galaxy formation; Star formation; White noise; Far-infrared spectroscopy; Balloon; Aluminum; Kinetic inductance detector
• ISSN: 0022-2291; 1573-7357
• DOI: 10.1007/s10909-022-02830-9

The Terahertz Intensity Mapper (TIM) is a NASA far-infrared balloon mission designed to perform [CII] intensity mapping of the peak of cosmic star formation. To achieve this goal, TIM will fly two grating spectrometers that together cover the 240–420
μ
m
wavelength range at a spectral resolution,
R
∼
250
. Each spectrometer will require a large format (
∼
3600
detectors) array of dual-polarization sensitive detectors, which are photon noise limited at the 100 fW of loading expected during operation. We present the design of a fully-aluminum low-volume lumped-element kinetic inductance detector that incorporates a novel “chain-link” absorber design. Operating at 215 mK, we demonstrate this detector achieves a photon noise limited performance at 100 fW of optical loading with a white noise spectrum down to 1 Hz. Based upon noise measurements of a dark detector, which shows a quasi-particle lifetime of
300
μ
s
, these KIDs are expected to achieve a detector-limited noise equivalent power of
∼
1.3
×
10
-
18
W
/
Hz
.