Time-Domain Modelling of Pulsed Photoconducting Sources - Part II: Characterization of an LT GaAs Bow-Tie Antenna

Drude's description of the response of low-temperature gallium arsenide to optical pulse excitation is used to evaluate the components of a time-domain Norton equivalent circuit of a photoconductive antenna (PCA) source. The saturation of the terahertz (THz) radiated power occurring at large optical excitation levels was previously associated...

Fabrication and Characterization of a Leaky Lens Photo-Conductive Antenna on Low Temperature Grown GaAs Membranes

State-of-the-art THz pulsed commercial systems operating over large bandwidth suffer from high dispersion or low radiation efficiency due to the poor coupling between the transmitter and receiver photoconductive antennas (PCAs). In this work, we present the fabrication and characterization of a leaky-lens PCA that has the potential to solve...

On the Experimental Characterization of Generated and Received Pulses of Photoconductive Antennas

Photoconductive antennas (PCAs) are promising candidates for sensing and imaging systems. We have investigated their properties under pulsed laser illumination both in transmission and reception. First, a transmitting PCA has been characterized including a power measurement. Then, a Quasi-Optical (QO) link between a transmitter and a receiver...

Electrically Small High Permittivity Lens Antenna Using Artificially Loaded Thermoplastics at 170 GHz

This contribution presents the development of an electrically small lens antenna using an artificially loaded thermoplastic at 140-170GHz. We will present the on-going development of the Fly’s Eye front end antenna concept that was presented in [1]. The antenna is composed on a dual plastic lens, a core lens and a shell lens, fed by a double...

Dimensioning Photoconductive Connected Array Sources to Maximize the Radiated Power

Photoconductive antennas (PCAs) are used for imaging and sensing applications because of their ability to radiate short pulses with large bandwidths in the THz regime. The characterization of PCAs has previously been done using a time-domain Norton equivalent circuit. Thanks to a recent contribution, the size of the excited photoconductive area...

DESHIMA 2.0: Development of an Integrated Superconducting Spectrometer for Science-Grade Astronomical Observations

Integrated superconducting spectrometer (ISS) technology will enable ultra-wideband, integral-field spectroscopy for (sub)millimeter-wave astronomy, in particular, for uncovering the dust-obscured cosmic star formation and galaxy evolution over cosmic time. Here, we present the development of DESHIMA 2.0, an ISS for ultra-wideband...

Demonstration of a Broadband Quasi-Optical Power Distribution and Beam-Steering with Transmit Lens Arrays at 550 GHz

A novel transmit lens array is proposed to provide broadband quasi-optical power distribution and beam-steering capabilities for array architectures in future submillimeter-wave heterodyne instruments. The transmit array is composed of a double array layer of lens antenna elements with high aperture efficiency. To enable broadband and low loss...

Broadband Lossless Matching Layer for Lens Arrays at THz Frequencies

We present the design, fabrication and characterization of a broadband lossless matching layer for shallow lens arrays. The matching layer we propose is based on silicon pyramids fabricated on top of the lens array by means of laser ablation. This matching layer has the advantage that it covers over an octave of bandwidth. We have compared the...

Lossless Matching Layer for Silicon Lens Arrays At 500 GHz Using Laser Ablated Structures

We present the design, fabrication and characterization of a broadband lossless matching layer for silicon lens arrays. The proposed matching layer is based on silicon frusta (truncated pyramids) on top of the lens array fabricated by means of laser ablation. This matching layer is advantageous over quarter-wavelength dielectric matching...

Antenna-coupled MKIDs for an Integral Field Unit at 7.8 THz

A focal plane array of extended-hemispherical silicon lenses coupled to aluminum coplanar-waveguide (CPW) Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) has been designed to operate at 7.8 THz. Low-dispersive leaky-wave radiation has been used to efficiently illuminate the antireflection-coated lenses. To minimize the radiation loss from the...

Far infrared imaging spectrometers for the next generation astronomical instruments

Advances in far infrared astronomy have been, and will be, defined by instrument capabilities. Especially relevant is the development of imaging spectrometers for the wavelength range of 0.03-3 mm, which are not available at all at this moment. We will discuss recent advances in this field: First, we discuss the development of miniature on-chip...

A Leaky Enhanced Photo-Conductive Connected Array for Broadband Generation of THz Power

Photoconductive antennas are devices that provide power up to THz frequencies at a relatively low cost. However, the power radiated by each antenna is typically quite low and arrays have been proposed to increase it. In this paper we present the design of a leaky enhanced array architecture that surpasses the state of the art as it operates...

On the Power Radiated by Photo Conductive Sources

The time evolution of voltages and currents in a pulsed photo conductive antenna (PCA) source is evaluated resorting to a rigorous procedure that stems from semiconductor physics first, to define the phenomena involved in the generation of the photocurrent, and then relies on an equivalent circuit in time domain, providing a direct estimation...

Fabrication and performance verification of a 961 pixel Kinetic Inductance Detector system for future space borne observatories 9914-138

Astronomical observations at infrared, sub-millimetre, and millimetre wavelengths are essential for addressing many of the key questions in astrophysics. Future ground- and space based observatories need large detector arrays with a sensitivity limited only by the noise of the radiation background. We demonstrate that antenna coupled Microwave...

Incoherent Detection of Orthogonal Polarizations via an Antenna Coupled MKID: Experimental Validation at 1.55 THz

There is an increasing demand for large format detector arrays with large bandwidths and high antenna efficiencies for future THz astronomical radiometric applications. For direct detection instruments, it is also desired to have antennas with dual polarization reception in order to increase the received power from incoherent sources, thereby...

Experimental validation of an MKID coupled dual polarized leaky lens antenna

This contribution presents the design and sub-mm wave measurements of a wideband dual polarized leaky lens antenna coupled to kinetic inductance detector (KIDs) to be specifically used for tightly spaced focal plane arrays. The antenna is planar and composed by two crossed slots, fed by two orthogonal coplanar waveguide (CPW) lines. In...

Full characterisation of a background limited antenna coupled KID over an octave of bandwidth for THz radiation

We present the design, fabrication, and full characterisation (sensitivity, beam pattern, and frequency response) of a background limited broadband antenna coupled kinetic inductance detector covering the frequency range from 1.4 to 2.8 THz. This device shows photon noise limited performance with a noise equivalent power of 2.5 × 10<sup>-19<...