A readout for large arrays of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors

TL;DR

This paper presents a successful readout system for large arrays of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs), enabling their use in optical and near-infrared astronomy with room temperature electronics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, flexible readout system based on open source hardware for large MKID arrays in astronomical applications.

Findings

First successful MKID array readout for optical/near-IR astronomy

Utilizes open source hardware for signal processing

Demonstrates feasibility of room temperature electronics for MKID readout

Abstract

Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) are superconducting detectors capable of counting single photons and measuring their energy in the UV, optical, and near-IR. MKIDs feature intrinsic frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) at microwave frequencies, allowing the construction and readout of large arrays. Due to the microwave FDM, MKIDs do not require the complex cryogenic multiplexing electronics used for similar detectors, such as Transition Edge Sensors (TESs), but instead transfer this complexity to room temperature electronics where they present a formidable signal processing challenge. In this paper we describe the first successful effort to build a readout for a photon counting optical/near-IR astronomical instrument, the ARray Camera for Optical to Near-infrared Spectrophotometry (ARCONS). This readout is based on open source hardware developed by the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER). Designed principally for radio telescope backends, it is flexible enough to be used for a variety of signal processing applications.