Development of Aluminum LEKIDs for Balloon-Borne Far-IR Spectroscopy

Abstract

We are developing lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) designed to achieve background-limited sensitivity for far-infrared (FIR) spectroscopy on a stratospheric balloon. The Spectroscopic Terahertz Airborne Receiver for Far-InfraRed Exploration (STARFIRE) will study the evolution of dusty galaxies with observations of the [CII] 158 $\mu$m and other atomic fine-structure transitions at $z=0.5-1.5$, both through direct observations of individual luminous infrared galaxies, and in blind surveys using the technique of line intensity mapping. The spectrometer will require large format ($\sim$1800 detectors) arrays of dual-polarization sensitive detectors with NEPs of $1\times 10^{-17}$ W Hz${}^{-1/2}$. The low-volume LEKIDs are fabricated with a single layer of aluminum (20 nm thick) deposited on a crystalline silicon wafer, with resonance frequencies of $100-250$ MHz. The inductor is a single meander with a linewidth of 0.4 $\mu$m, patterned in a grid to absorb optical power in both polarizations. The meander is coupled to a circular waveguide, fed by a conical feedhorn. Initial testing of a small array prototype has demonstrated good yield, and a median NEP of $4\times 10^{-18}$ W Hz${}^{-1/2}$.

arXiv commentaccepted for publication in Journal of Low Temperature Physics

References in corpus (6)

• A kilo-pixel imaging system for future space based far-infrared observatories using microwave kinetic inductance detectors
• Enhancement of quasiparticle recombination in Ta and Al superconductors by implantation of magnetic and nonmagnetic atoms
• Measuring Galaxy Clustering and the Evolution of [CII] Mean Intensity with far-IR Line Intensity Mapping During 0.5 < z < 1.5
• Horn-Coupled, Commercially-Fabricated Aluminum Lumped-Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors for Millimeter Wavelengths
• The Far-Infrared Surveyor Mission Study: Paper I, the Genesis
• Design and performance of the antenna coupled lumped-element kinetic inductance detector

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Constraining the evolution of CII intensity through the end stages of reionization
• Origins Space Telescope Mission Concept Study Report
• Multitracer cosmological line intensity mapping mock lightcone simulation
• The Galaxy Evolution Probe