Development of large radii half-wave plates for CMB satellite missions

TL;DR

This paper discusses the development and selection of large-diameter half-wave plates as key polarisation modulators for future CMB satellite missions aiming to detect B-mode polarisation.

Contribution

It compares various polarisation modulator options and identifies the most suitable large radii half-wave plates for upcoming space-based CMB B-mode detection.

Findings

Comparison of different polarisation modulators

Selection of optimal large-diameter half-wave plates

Trade-off analysis for manufacturing and performance

Abstract

The successful European Space Agency (ESA) Planck mission has mapped the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropy with unprecedented accuracy. However, Planck was not designed to detect the polarised components of the CMB with comparable precision. The BICEP2 collaboration has recently reported the first detection of the B-mode polarisation. ESA is funding the development of critical enabling technologies associated with B-mode polarisation detection, one of these being large diameter half-wave plates. We compare different polarisation modulators and discuss their respective trade-offs in terms of manufacturing, RF performance and thermo-mechanical properties. We then select the most appropriate solution for future satellite missions, optimized for the detection of B-modes.