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Advantages of Photon Counting Detectors for Terahertz Astronomy

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Abstract

For astronomical observation at terahertz frequencies, a variety of cryogenic detector technologies are being developed to achieve background-limited observation from space, where a noise equivalent power (NEP) of less than \(10^{-18}\) W/Hz\(^{0.5}\) is often required. When each photon signal is resolved in time, the requirements on NEP are reduced and 1 ns time resolution corresponds to an NEP of approximately \(10^{-17}\) W/Hz\(^{0.5}\) at THz frequencies. Furthermore, fast photon counting detectors have a high dynamic range to observe bright terahertz sources such as stars and active galactic nuclei. Applications of photon counting detector are discussed for cosmic microwave background and photon counting terahertz interferometry.

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Acknowledgments

This research is financially supported by Matsuo Foundation, ISAS/JAXA, and Grant-in-Aid for Exploratory Research of JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15K13469.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), Tokyo, Japan

    Hiroshi Matsuo & Hajime Ezawa

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  1. Hiroshi Matsuo
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  2. Hajime Ezawa
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Matsuo.

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Matsuo, H., Ezawa, H. Advantages of Photon Counting Detectors for Terahertz Astronomy. J Low Temp Phys 184, 718–723 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-015-1462-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-015-1462-z

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