Characterization of a tantalum-aluminum-based kinetic inductance detector for far-infrared space applications
Abstract
Future far-infrared space observatories equipped with cryogenic telescopes require ultra-sensitive detectors to enable measurements limited only by the sky background. We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a superconducting kinetic inductance detector (KID) at 4.3 THz. The lumped-element KID comprises a tantalum interdigitated capacitor and a 100-nm-wide aluminum-line inductor connected in parallel. The inductor acts also as a low-volume absorber. We achieved photon-noise-limited performance with a noise equivalent power of 1.9 × 10−19 W/Hz referenced to absorbed blackbody power at a modulation frequency of 300 Hz. Under optical loading above 1.83 fW, the detector remains stable with white-noise spectra extending down to ∼100 mHz.
Article Details
Journal Info
Applied Physics Letters
American Institute of Physics
Authors (11)
Runfeng Su
Research Institute of Superconductor Electronics, School of Electronic Science and Engineering & National Key Laboratory of Microwave Photonics (Nanjing University), Nanjing University 1 , Nanjing 210023,
Junhua Chen
School of Pharmacy
Rui Tan
Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies on Intelligent Molecules, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Structure and Performance for Functional Molecules, College of Chemistry
Yuwei Zhu
Research Institute of Superconductor Electronics, School of Electronic Science and Engineering & National Key Laboratory of Microwave Photonics (Nanjing University), Nanjing University 1 , Nanjing 210023,
Tianyuan Chi
Research Institute of Superconductor Electronics, School of Electronic Science and Engineering & National Key Laboratory of Microwave Photonics (Nanjing University), Nanjing University 1 , Nanjing 210023,
Siming Zang
Research Institute of Superconductor Electronics, School of Electronic Science and Engineering & National Key Laboratory of Microwave Photonics (Nanjing University), Nanjing University 1 , Nanjing 210023,
Jingbo Wu
Xuecou Tu
Mei Yu
Jian Chen
Peiheng Wu