An analytical model for electronic noise in a cryogenic bolometer detector readout circuit

TL;DR

This paper develops an analytical noise model for cryogenic bolometer readout circuits, accounting for various noise sources and validated with empirical data from NTD Ge sensors at millikelvin temperatures.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analytical model for noise in cryogenic bolometer readouts, validated with experimental data, and identifies dominant noise sources and optimal sensor resistance values.

Findings

The model accurately describes noise over a wide resistance range.

The differential amplifier at 300 K is the dominant noise contributor.

Lower flicker noise in the amplifier than datasheet specifications.

Abstract

This paper presents an analytical model to quantify the measured noise in a cryogenic bolometer readout circuit. The model includes the contributions from the bias resistors and sensor resistors, voltage and current noise of amplifier, and cable capacitance. The model parameters are empirically estimated using frequency domain analysis of the measured noise data of indigenously developed Neutron Transmutation Doped (NTD) Ge sensors. The model is shown to describe noise data for NTD Ge sensors over a wide range of resistances corresponding to temperatures in the range 20 - 70 mK. Relative contributions of different components are discussed and it is shown that the contribution to the overall noise from the differential amplifier at 300 K is the dominant source. It is observed that the amplifier flicker noise is significantly lower than that specified in the amplifier datasheet. The present study also indicates that a desirable value of resistance of NTD sensor (R$_{NTD}$) from noise considerations is $\leq$ 1 G$\Omega$ at $sim$ 20 mK.