Ultasensitive TES detectors for FIR space astronomy.

Author

Morozov, Dmitry ; Mauskopf, Philip D. ; Ade, Peter ; Glowacka, Dorota M. ; Goldie, David ; Withington, Stafford ; Bruijn, Marcel ; De Korte, Pieter A J ; Hoevers, Henk ; Ridder, Marcel ; Gao, Jian-Rong ; Wild, Wolfgang

Author_Institution

Cardiff Univ., Cardiff

fYear

2008

fDate

15-19 Sept. 2008

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

2

Abstract

We present results of the development of ultrasensitive transition edge superconducting (TES) detectors for the SAFARI far infrared (FIR) spectrometer, one of the instruments proposed for the Japanese-led SPICA telescope. Future FIR space missions require a combination of cooled optics and ultrasensitive detectors with noise equivalent power (NEP) levels on the order of 10^-19 W/radic(Hz) or lower to be able to perform detailed spectroscopic surveys of the nearby and distant universe. We have developed TES detectors based on the mechanical suspension of an absorbing film connected to a TiAu bilayer thermometer on a thin SiN membrane. We describe the design of these detectors and measurements of their performance.

Keywords

astronomical instruments; astronomical spectra; infrared spectrometers; superconducting photodetectors; FIR space astronomy; SAFARI far infrared spectrometer; cooled optics; noise equivalent power levels; space missions; thermometer; thin SiN membrane; ultrasensitive transition edge superconducting detectors; Astronomy; Finite impulse response filter; Infrared detectors; Infrared spectra; Instruments; Optical noise; Spectroscopy; Superconducting device noise; Superconducting photodetectors; Telescopes;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves, 2008. IRMMW-THz 2008. 33rd International Conference on

Conference_Location

Pasadena, CA

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-2119-0

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-2120-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICIMW.2008.4665656

Filename

4665656