Abstract
Far-infrared (FIR) wavelength light provides a wealth of information about astrophysical processes. Large field-of-view FIR spectrometers face a variety of challenges that can be bypassed by utilizing on-chip filter bank technology. To this end, we have been developing microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) to couple to on-chip spectrometric technologies. We utilize a unique two-silicon wafer design to create a waveguide for an on-chip spectrometer between 1.4 and 2 THz. The spectrometer’s principle of operation is electromagnetic radiation traveling down a center waveguide before being picked off by a resonance cavity and absorbed by a detector. The MKIDs are designed to couple directly to the waveguide using an annular antenna shape for the inductor. Alignment of the two-wafer design is achieved with two dowel pins and a hole and slot pattern in our custom designed box. We present the design and early test data from a 18-channel prototype device. The prototype yielded the full 18 resonances with quality factors \(Q_c\) of about \(5\,\times \,10^4\) and \(Q_i\) of about \(1\,\times \,10^4\). We plan to use the technology we developed to create an \(n \times n\) pixel device targeting \(R=100\).
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Acknowledgements
This work is supported by NASA under Grant 80NSSC20K1359, issued through the Astrophysics Research and Analysis (APRA) program of the Science Mission Directorate. E.B. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation through the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) and assistance from K. Karkare during the project and in preparing this proceedings. This work was carried out in part in the Materials Research Laboratory Central Research Facilities (U. Illinois); the Micro-Nano-Mechanical Systems Cleanroom Laboratory (U. Illinois); and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility (U. Chicago). The authors sadly note the untimely passing of Dr. Erik Shirokoff, a respected collaborator and key driver of this effort.
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E.B. wrote the main manuscript text and prepared figures. All authors are part of the RAxDEx collaboration and reviewed the manuscript.
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Brooks, E., Barry, P., Nie, R. et al. Development of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors for a THz On-Chip Spectrometer. J Low Temp Phys 214, 230–237 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-023-03043-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-023-03043-4