No Arabic abstract
We designed, fabricated, and measured anti-reflection coating (ARC) on sapphire that has 116% fractional bandwidth and transmission of at least 97% in the millimeter wave band. The ARC was based on patterning pyramid-like sub-wavelength structures (SWS) using ablation with a 15 W femto-second laser operating at 1030 nm. One side of each of two discs was fabricated with SWS that had a pitch of 0.54 mm and height of 2 mm. The average ablation volume removal rate was 1.6 mm$^{3}$/min. Measurements of the two-disc sandwich show transmission higher than 97% between 43 and 161 GHz. We characterize instrumental polarization (IP) arising from differential transmission due to asymmetric SWS. We find that with proper alignment of the two disc sandwich RMS IP across the band is predicted to be 0.07% at normal incidence, and less than 0.6% at incidence angles up to 20 degrees. These results indicate that laser ablation of SWS on sapphire and on other hard materials such as alumina is an effective way to fabricate broad-band ARC.
We report on the first use of laser ablation to make sub-millimeter, broad-band, anti-reflection coatings (ARC) based on sub-wavelength structures (SWS) on alumina and sapphire. We used a 515 nm laser to produce pyramid-shaped structures with pitch of about 320 $mu$m and total height of near 800 $mu$m. Transmission measurements between 70 and 140 GHz are in agreement with simulations using electromagnetic propagation software. The simulations indicate that SWS ARC with the fabricated shape should have a fractional bandwidth response of $Delta u / u_{center} = 0.55$ centered on 235 GHz for which reflections are below 3%. Extension of the bandwidth to both lower and higher frequencies, between few tens of GHz and few THz, should be straightforward with appropriate adjustment of laser ablation parameters.
We used two novel approaches to produce sub-wavelength structure (SWS) anti-reflection coatings (ARC) on silicon for the millimeter and sub-millimeter (MSM) wave band: picosecond laser ablation and dicing with beveled saws. We produced pyramidal structures with both techniques. The diced sample, machined on only one side, had pitch and height of 350 $mu$m and 972 $mu$m. The two laser ablated samples had pitch of 180 $mu$m and heights of 720 $mu$m and 580 $mu$m; only one of these samples was ablated on both sides. We present measurements of shape and optical performance as well as comparisons to the optical performance predicted using finite element analysis and rigorous coupled wave analysis. By extending the measured performance of the one-sided diced sample to the two-sided case, we demonstrate 25 % band averaged reflectance of less than 5 % over a bandwidth of 97 % centered on 170 GHz. Using the two-sided laser ablation sample, we demonstrate reflectance less than 5 % over 83 % bandwidth centered on 346 GHz.
The desire for higher sensitivity has driven ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments to employ ever larger focal planes, which in turn require larger reimaging optics. Practical limits to the maximum size of these optics motivates the development of quasi-optically-coupled (lenslet-coupled), multi-chroic detectors. These detectors can be sensitive across a broader bandwidth compared to waveguide-coupled detectors. However, the increase in bandwidth comes at a cost: the lenses (up to $sim$700 mm diameter) and lenslets ($sim$5 mm diameter, hemispherical lenses on the focal plane) used in these systems are made from high-refractive-index materials (such as silicon or amorphous aluminum oxide) that reflect nearly a third of the incident radiation. In order to maximize the faint CMB signal that reaches the detectors, the lenses and lenslets must be coated with an anti-reflective (AR) material. The AR coating must maximize radiation transmission in scientifically interesting bands and be cryogenically stable. Such a coating was developed for the third generation camera, SPT-3G, of the South Pole Telescope (SPT) experiment, but the materials and techniques used in the development are general to AR coatings for mm-wave optics. The three-layer polytetrafluoroethylene-based AR coating is broadband, inexpensive, and can be manufactured with simple tools. The coating is field tested; AR coated focal plane elements were deployed in the 2016-2017 austral summer and AR coated reimaging optics were deployed in 2017-2018.
SuperSpec is a novel on-chip spectrometer we are developing for multi-object, moderate resolution (R = 100 - 500), large bandwidth (~1.65:1) submillimeter and millimeter survey spectroscopy of high-redshift galaxies. The spectrometer employs a filter bank architecture, and consists of a series of half-wave resonators formed by lithographically-patterned superconducting transmission lines. The signal power admitted by each resonator is detected by a lumped element titanium nitride (TiN) kinetic inductance detector (KID) operating at 100-200 MHz. We have tested a new prototype device that is more sensitive than previous devices, and easier to fabricate. We present a characterization of a representative R=282 channel at f = 236 GHz, including measurements of the spectrometer detection efficiency, the detector responsivity over a large range of optical loading, and the full system optical efficiency. We outline future improvements to the current system that we expect will enable construction of a photon-noise-limited R=100 filter bank, appropriate for a line intensity mapping experiment targeting the [CII] 158 micron transition during the Epoch of Reionization
We present the design, manufacturing technique, and characterization of a 3D-printed broadband graded index millimeter wave absorber. The absorber is additively manufactured using a fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printer out of a carbon-loaded high impact polystyrene (HIPS) filament and is designed using a space-filling curve to optimize manufacturability using said process. The absorbers reflectivity is measured from 63 GHz to 115 GHz and from 140 GHz to 215 GHz and is compared to electromagnetic simulations. The intended application is for terminating stray light in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) telescopes, and the absorber has been shown to survive cryogenic thermal cycling.