Abstract
Polarization sensitive, microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) are under development for the next generation BLAST instrument (BLAST-TNG). BLAST-TNG is a balloon-borne submillimeter polarimeter designed to study magnetic fields in diffuse dust regions and molecular clouds. We present the design and performance of feedhorn-coupled, dual-polarization sensitive MKIDs fabricated from TiN/Ti multilayer films, which have been optimized for the 250 μ m band. Measurements show effective selection of linear polarization and good electrical isolation between the orthogonally crossed X and Y detectors within a single spatial pixel. The detector cross-polar coupling is < 3 %. Passband measurements are presented, which demonstrate that the desired band-edges (1.0–1.4 THz) have been achieved. We find a near linear response to the optical load from a blackbody source, which has been observed in previous devices fabricated from TiN. Blackbody-coupled noise measurements demonstrate that the sensitivity of the detectors is limited by photon noise when the optical load is greater than 1 pW.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 173-179 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Low Temperature Physics |
Volume | 184 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2016 |
Keywords
- Bolometer
- MKID
- Polarimetry
- Sub-mm
- THz
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- Materials Science(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics