Magnetic field tunable spectral response of kinetic inductance detectors

Abstract

We tune the onset of optical response in aluminum kinetic inductance detectors from a natural cutoff frequency of 90 GHz to 60 GHz by applying an external magnetic field. The change in the spectral response is due to the decrease in the superconducting gap, from 90 GHz at zero magnetic field to 60 GHz at a magnetic field of around 3 mT. We characterize the variation of the superconducting gap, the detector frequency shift, and the internal quality factor as a function of the applied field. In principle, the magnetic field tunable response could be used to make spectroscopic measurements. In practice, the internal quality factor behaves hysterically with the magnetic field due to the presence of vortices in the thin superconducting film. We conclude by discussing possible solutions to achieve spectroscopy measurements using kinetic inductance detectors and magnetic field.