Scalable background-limited polarization-sensitive detectors for mm-wave applications

TL;DR

This paper presents the development of scalable, polarization-sensitive millimeter-wave detectors on silicon substrates, achieving high efficiency and suitable for large arrays in ground or space applications.

Contribution

The work introduces a scalable detector architecture with integrated filters and hybrid enclosures, enhancing efficiency and uniformity across a broad frequency range.

Findings

Achieved 90% efficiency per polarization at Q-band.

Demonstrated scalability from 30 to 300 GHz.

Reduced high-frequency mode coupling with hybridized enclosure.

Abstract

We report on the status and development of polarization-sensitive detectors for millimeter-wave applications. The detectors are fabricated on single-crystal silicon, which functions as a low-loss dielectric substrate for the microwave circuitry as well as the supporting membrane for the Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers. The orthomode transducer (OMT) is realized as a symmetric structure and on-chip filters are employed to define the detection bandwidth. A hybridized integrated enclosure reduces the high-frequency THz mode set that can couple to the TES bolometers. An implementation of the detector architecture at Q-band achieves 90% efficiency in each polarization. The design is scalable in both frequency coverage, 30-300 GHz, and in number of detectors with uniform characteristics. Hence, the detectors are desirable for ground-based or space-borne instruments that require large arrays of efficient background-limited cryogenic detectors.