Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) have shown great potential for sub-mm instrumentation because of the high scalability of the technology. Here we demonstrate for the first time in the sub-mm band (0.1...2 mm) a photon noise limited performance of a small antenna coupled MKID detector array and we describe the relation between photon noise and MKID intrinsic generation-recombination noise. Additionally we use the observed photon noise to measure the optical efficiency of detectors to be 0.8+-0.2.
We demonstrate photon-noise limited performance at sub-millimeter wavelengths in feedhorn-coupled, microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) made of a TiN/Ti/TiN trilayer superconducting film, tuned to have a transition temperature of 1.4~K. Micro-machining of the silicon-on-insulator wafer backside creates a quarter-wavelength backshort optimized for efficient coupling at 250~micron. Using frequency read out and when viewing a variable temperature blackbody source, we measure device noise consistent with photon noise when the incident optical power is $>$~0.5~pW, corresponding to noise equivalent powers $>$~3$times 10^{-17}$ W/$sqrt{mathrm{Hz}}$. This sensitivity makes these devices suitable for broadband photometric applications at these wavelengths.
We demonstrate photon noise limited performance in both phase and amplitude readout in microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) consisting of NbTiN and Al, down to 100 fW of optical power. We simulate the far field beam pattern of the lens-antenna system used to couple radiation into the MKID and derive an aperture efficiency of 75%. This is close to the theoretical maximum of 80% for a single-moded detector. The beam patterns are verified by a detailed analysis of the optical coupling within our measurement setup.
We present the development of a second generation digital readout system for photon counting microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) arrays operating in the optical and near-IR wavelength bands. Our system retains much of the core signal processing architecture from the first generation system, but with a significantly higher bandwidth, enabling readout of kilopixel MKID arrays. Each set of readout boards is capable of reading out 1024 MKID pixels multiplexed over 2 GHz of bandwidth; two such units can be placed in parallel to read out a full 2048 pixel microwave feedline over a 4 -- 8 GHz band. As in the first generation readout, our system is capable of identifying, analyzing, and recording photon detection events in real time with a time resolution of order a few microseconds. Here, we describe the hardware and firmware, and present an analysis of the noise properties of the system. We also present a novel algorithm for efficiently suppressing IQ mixer sidebands to below -30 dBc.
We report photon-noise limited performance of horn-coupled, aluminum lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors at millimeter wavelengths. The detectors are illuminated by a millimeter-wave source that uses an active multiplier chain to produce radiation between 140 and 160 GHz. We feed the multiplier with either amplified broadband noise or a continuous-wave tone from a microwave signal generator. We demonstrate that the detector response over a 40 dB range of source power is well-described by a simple model that considers the number of quasiparticles. The detector noise-equivalent power (NEP) is dominated by photon noise when the absorbed power is greater than approximately 1 pW, which corresponds to $mathrm{NEP} approx 2 times 10^{-17} , mathrm{W} , mathrm{Hz}^{-1/2}$, referenced to absorbed power. At higher source power levels we observe the relationships between noise and power expected from the photon statistics of the source signal: $mathrm{NEP} propto P$ for broadband (chaotic) illumination and $mathrm{NEP} propto P^{1/2}$ for continuous-wave (coherent) illumination.
Mapping the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background is yielding exciting data on the origin of the universe, the reionization of the universe, and the growth of cosmic structure. Kilopixel arrays represent the current state of the art, but advances in detector technology are needed to enable the larger detector arrays needed for future measurements. Here we present a design for single-band dual-polarization Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) at 20% bandwidths centered at 145, 220, and 280 GHz. The detection and readout system is nearly identical to the successful photon-noise-limited aluminum Lumped-Element KIDs that have been recently built and tested by some of the authors. Fabricating large focal plane arrays of the feed horns and quarter-wave backshorts requires only conventional precision machining. Since the detectors and readout lines consist only of a single patterned aluminum layer on a SOI wafer, arrays of the detectors can be built commercially or at a standard university cleanroom.
S. J. C. Yates
,J. J. A. Baselmans
,A. Endo
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(2011)
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"Photon noise limited radiation detection with lens-antenna coupled Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors"
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Stephen Yates Dr.
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