Design and performance of dual-polarization lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors for millimeter-wave polarimetry

Abstract

Lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) are an attractive technology for millimeter-wave observations that require large arrays of extremely low-noise detectors. We designed, fabricated and characterized 64-element (128 LEKID) arrays of horn-coupled, dual-polarization LEKIDs optimized for ground-based CMB polarimetry. Our devices are sensitive to two orthogonal polarizations in a single spectral band centered on 150 GHz with $\Delta \nu /\nu =0.2$. The $65\times 65$ mm square arrays are designed to be tiled into the focal plane of an optical system. We demonstrate the viability of these dual-polarization LEKIDs with laboratory measurements. The LEKID modules are tested with an FPGA-based readout system in a sub-kelvin cryostat that uses a two-stage adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator. The devices are characterized using a blackbody and a millimeter-wave source. The polarization properties are measured with a cryogenic stepped half-wave plate. We measure the resonator parameters and the detector sensitivity, noise spectrum, dynamic range, and polarization response. The resonators have internal quality factors approaching $1\times 10^6$. The detectors have uniform response between orthogonal polarizations and a large dynamic range. The detectors are photon-noise limited above 1 pW of absorbed power. The noise-equivalent temperatures under a 3.4 K blackbody load are $<100\mu \mathrm{K}\sqrt{\mathrm{s}}$. The polarization fractions of detectors sensitive to orthogonal polarizations are >80%. The entire array is multiplexed on a single readout line, demonstrating a multiplexing factor of 128. The array and readout meet the requirements for 4 arrays to be read out simultaneously for a multiplexing factor of 512. This laboratory study demonstrates the first dual-polarization LEKID array optimized for CMB polarimetry and shows the readiness of the detectors for on-sky observations.

arXiv commentAccepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics, revised version. 11 pages, 8 figures

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Kinetic Inductance Detectors for the OLIMPO experiment: in--flight operation and performance
• The short wavelength instrument for the polarization explorer balloon-borne experiment: Polarization modulation issues
• Development of Multi-Chroic MKIDs for Next-Generation CMB Polarization Studies
• Total power horn-coupled 150 GHz LEKID array for space applications
• A Scalable Cryogenic LED Module for Selectively Illuminating Kinetic Inductance Detector Arrays
• Response of a Cold-Electron Bolometer in a coplanar antenna system
• A kinetic inductance detectors array design for high background conditions at 150 GHz