Lens Based Kinetic Inductance Detectors With Distributed Dual Polarized Absorbers for Far Infrared Space-Based Astronomy

Abstract

Future space-based far infrared astronomical observations require background limited detector sensitivities and scalable focal plane array solutions to realize their vast potential in observation speed. In this work, a focal plane array of lens absorber coupled kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) is proposed to fill this role. The figures of merit and design guidelines for the proposed detector concept are derived by employing a previously developed electromagnetic spectral modeling technique. Two designs operating at central frequencies of 6.98 and 12 THz are studied. A prototype array of the former is fabricated, and its performance is experimentally determined and validated. Specifically, the optical coupling of the detectors to incoherent distributed sources (i.e., normalized throughput) is quantified experimentally with good agreement with the estimations provided by the model. The coupling of the lens absorber prototypes to an incident plane wave, i.e., aperture efficiency, is also indirectly validated experimentally matching the expected value of 54% averaged over two linear polarizations. The noise equivalent power of the KIDs is also measured with limiting value of 8 × 10-20W\√Hz at the bath and radiator temperatures of 130 mK and 2.7 K, respectively, under negligible optical loading.