2023 Astrophotonics Roadmap: pathways to realizing multi-functional integrated astrophotonic instruments

Photonic technologies offer numerous functionalities that can be used to realize astrophotonic instruments. The most spectacular example to date is the ESO Gravity instrument at the Very Large Telescope in Chile that combines the light-gathering power of four 8 m telescopes through a complex photonic interferometer. Fully integrated...

Antenna Coupled MKID Performance Verification at 850 GHz for Large Format Astrophysics Arrays

Next generation sub-mm imaging instruments require kilo-pixel focal plane arrays filled with background limited detectors. Microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) are a state-of-the-art detector for future instruments due to their inherent multiplexing capabilities. An MKID consists of a superconducting resonator coupled to a feed-line...

A first single-photon avalanche diode fabricated in standard SOI CMOS technology with a full characterization of the device

This paper reports on the first implementation of a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) in standard silicon on insulator (SOI) complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The SPAD is realized in a circular shape, and it is based on a P+/N-well junction along with a P-well guard-ring structure formed by lateral diffusion of two...

Architecture and applications of a high resolution gated SPAD image sensor

We present the architecture and three applications of the largest resolution image sensor based on single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) published to date. The sensor, fabricated in a high-voltage CMOS process, has a resolution of 512 × 128 pixels and a pitch of 24 ?m. The fill-factor of 5% can be increased to 30% with the use of microlenses....

33000 photons per MeV from mixed (Lu0.75Y0.25)3Al5O12:Pr scintillator crystals

(LuxY1-x)3Al5O12:Pr (x = 0.25, 0.50, 0.75) crystals have been grown by the Czochralski method and their scintillation properties have been examined. Compared to the well-respected LuAG:Pr scintillator, which has so extensively been studied in the recent years, the new mixed LuYAG:Pr crystals display markedly higher light yields, regardless of...

Quasiparticle dynamics in aluminium superconducting microwave resonators

This thesis describes the intrinsic limits of superconducting microresonator detectors. In a superconductor at low temperature, most of the electrons are paired into so called Cooper pairs, which cause the well-known electrical conduction without resistance. Superconducting microwave resonators have therefore very high quality factors and are...

Measurement and modeling of microlenses fabricated on single-photon avalanche diode arrays for fill factor recovery

Single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) imagers typically have a relatively low fil factor, i.e. a low proportion of the pixel’s surface is light sensitive, due to in-pixel circuitry. We present a microlens array fabricated on a 128x128 single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) imager to enhance its sensitivity. The benefit and limitations of these...

A wide spectral range single-photon avalanche diode fabricated in an advanced 180 nm CMOS technology

We present a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) with a wide spectral range fabricated in an advanced 180 nm CMOS process. The realized SPAD achieves 20 % photon detection probability (PDP) for wavelengths ranging from 440 nm to 820 nm at an excess bias of 4V, with 30 % PDP at wavelengths from 520 nm to 720 nm. Dark count rates (DCR) are at...

Surface plasmon quantum cascade lasers as terahertz local oscillators

We characterize a heterodyne receiver based on a surface-plasmon waveguide quantum cascade laser (QCL) emitting at 2.84 THz as a local oscillator, and an NbN hot electron bolometer as a mixer. We find that the envelope of the far-field pattern of the QCL is diffraction-limited and superimposed onto interference fringes, which are similar to...