Lens based Kinetic Inductance Detectors with Distributed Dual Polarised Absorbers for Far Infra-red Space-based Astronomy

TL;DR

This paper proposes a lens-based Kinetic Inductance Detector array with distributed dual-polarized absorbers for far-infrared space astronomy, demonstrating design, fabrication, and experimental validation of high-efficiency, low-noise detectors suitable for future space telescopes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel lens-based KID array with distributed dual-polarized absorbers, including electromagnetic modeling, design guidelines, and experimental validation at THz frequencies.

Findings

Achieved aperture efficiency of 54% over two polarizations.

Measured noise equivalent power of 8×10⁻²⁰ W/√Hz.

Validated optical coupling with good agreement to models.

Abstract

Future space-based far infra-red astronomical observations require background limited detector sensitivities and scalable focal plane array solutions to realise 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 modelling 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. normalised 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 polarisation. The noise equivalent power of the KIDs are also measured with limiting value of $8\times10^{-20}$ $\mathrm{W/\sqrt{Hz}}$.