Abstract
The PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics (PRIMA) is working to develop kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) that can meet the sensitivity targets of a far-infrared spectrometer on a cryogenically cooled space telescope. An important ingredient for achieving high sensitivity is increasing the fractional-frequency responsivity. Here, we present a study of the responsivity of aluminum KIDs fabricated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Specifically, we model the KID’s temporal response to pair-breaking excitations in the framework of the Mattis–Bardeen theory, incorporating quasiparticle recombination dynamics and the pair-breaking efficiency. Using a near-IR laser, we measure time-resolved photon pulses and fit them to our model, extracting the time-resolved quasiparticle density and the quasiparticle recombination lifetime. Comparing the fit to the known energy of the laser provides a measurement of the pair-breaking efficiency. In addition to photon-sourced excitations, it is important to understand the KID’s response to phonon-sourced excitations from cosmic rays. We measure the rate of secondary cosmic rays detected by our devices and predict the dead time due to cosmic rays for an array in L2 orbit. This work provides confidence in KIDs’ robustness to cosmic ray events in the space environment.
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Acknowledgements
The research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018F0610). This work was funded by the NASA (Award No. 141108.04.02.01.36)—to Dr. C. M. Bradford. We would like to thank Thomas Stevenson for helpful discussions on the source of gamma rays in the laboratory.
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Kane, E., Albert, C., Baselmans, J. et al. Modeling of Cosmic Rays and Near-IR Photons in Aluminum KIDs. J Low Temp Phys 214, 238–246 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-023-03044-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-023-03044-3