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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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500 records · Page 28

THz Hot-Electron Photon Counter

We present a concept for the hot-electron transition-edge sensor capable of counting THz photons. The main need for such a sensor is a spectroscopy on future space telescopes where a background limited NEP approx. 10(exp -20) W/H(exp 1/2) is expected at around 1 THz. Under these conditions, the rate of photon arrival is very low and any currently imaginable detector with sufficient sensitivity will operate in the photon counting mode. The Hot-Electron Photon Counter based on a submicron-size Ti bridge has a very low heat capacity which provides a high enough energy resolution (approx.140 GHz) at 0.3 K. With the sensor time constant of a few microseconds, the dynamic range would be approx. 30 dB. The sensor couples to radiation via a planar antenna and is read by a SQUID amplifier or by a 1-bit RSFQ ADC. A compact array of the antenna-coupled counters can be fabricated on a silicon wafer without membranes.

radiation detectors↗

Distributed Antenna-Coupled TES for FIR Detectors Arrays

We describe a new architecture for a superconducting detector for the submillimeter and far-infrared. This detector uses a distributed hot-electron transition edge sensor (TES) to collect the power from a focal-plane-filling slot antenna array. The sensors lay directly across the slots of the antenna and match the antenna impedance of about 30 ohms. Each pixel contains many sensors that are wired in parallel as a single distributed TES, which results in a low impedance that readily matches to a multiplexed SQUID readout These detectors are inherently polarization sensitive, with very low cross-polarization response, but can also be configured to sum both polarizations. The dual-polarization design can have a bandwidth of 50The use of electron-phonon decoupling eliminates the need for micro-machining, making the focal plane much easier to fabricate than with absorber-coupled, mechanically isolated pixels. We discuss applications of these detectors and a hybridization scheme compatible with arrays of tens of thousands of pixels.

antenna↗

Recent Results of a New Microwave SQUID Multiplexer

We are developing a proof-of-concept microwave SQUID multiplexer containing four SQUIDs coupled to GHz frequency resonant circuits and fed with a single microwave readout line. The resonators are half-wave coplanar waveguide sections and are similar to the structures used for the microwave kinetic inductance detectors developed in our group. Optimal values for the interdigital gap capacitors were determined to maximize the sensitivity of the transmitted and reflected microwave signal with respect to changes in the dynamic resistance of the SQUID. The dc current-bias line for the SQUID has an in-line inductive high frequency filter to minimize coupling between the bias line and resonator. A high frequency modulation scheme is proposed to eliminate the need for individual flux biasing of the SQUIDs, which extends the dynamic range of the readout. In this scheme a common modulation signal is imposed on each SQUID and the received signal is demodulated at one and two times the modulation frequency to maintain sensitivity at any flux state. We present the recent results of the microwave SQUID multiplexer system operating at a readout frequency range of 10 - 11GHz.

superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID↗

Low-cycle Fatigue and Dynamic Fracture in Gold Thin Films on SiN Supported Membranes

This slide presentation focuses on the dynamic mechanical response and fatigue behavior in sub-micron thick Au-films deposited onto amorphous Si(sub X)N(sub y) substrates, with spider-web geometry, that were subjected to forced vibration (3-axis random vibration with 2 kHz roll-off frequency). The work is to advance cyrogenic detectors that can operate at 100mK, that is required to create cryogenic detectors that are to search for present day signatures of the big bang.

fatigue↗

The First Detection of (O IV) from an Ultraluminous X-Ray Source with Spitzer. 2. Evidence for High Luminosity in Holmberg II ULX

This is the second of two papers examining Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph observations of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) in Holmberg II. Here, we perform detailed photoionization modeling of the infrared lines. Our analysis suggests that the luminosity and morphology of the [Oiv] 25.89 micronmeters emission line is consistent with photoionization by the soft X-ray and far ultraviolet (FUV) radiation from the accretion disk of the binary system and inconsistent with narrow beaming. We show that the emission nebula is matter bounded both in the line-of-sight direction and to the east, and probably radiation-bounded to the west. A bolometric luminosity in excess of 10(exp 40) erg s(exp -1) would be needed to produce the measured [O iv] flux. We use modeling and previously published studies to conclude that shocks likely contribute very little, if at all,to the high-ionization line fluxes observed in the Holmberg II ULX. Additionally, we find that the spectral type of the companion star has a surprisingly strong effect on the predicted strength of the [O iv] emission. This finding could explain the origin of [O iv] in some starburst systems containing black hole binaries.

GALAXIES↗

BICEP2/SPUD: Searching for Inflation with Degree Scale Polarimetry from the South Pole

BICEP2/SPUD is the new powerful upgrade of the existing BICEP1 experiment, a bolometric receiver to study the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation, which has been in operation at the South Pole since January 2006. BICEP2 will provide an improvement up to 10 times mapping speed at 150 GHz compared to BICEP1, using the same BICEP telescope mount. SPUD, a series of compact, mechanically-cooled receivers deployed on the DASI mount at the Pole, will provide similar mapping speed in to BICEP2 in three bands, 100, 150, and 220 GHz. The new system will use large TES focal plane arrays to provide unprecedented sensitivity and excellent control of foreground contamination.

polarization↗

Submillimeter (Lambda < 1 mm) Continuum Imaging at CSO: A Retrospective

This contribution is submitted on behalf of all students, postdocs, and staff inspired and supported by Tom Phillips to build an instrument and then wait for low precipitable water vapor. Over the 20 plus years of its existence, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) has seen a succession of ever more powerful detectors to measure continuum emission in the shortest submillimeter bands available from Mauna Kea. These instruments have been trained on the nearest solar systems, the most distant galaxies, and objects in between. I show several images collected over the 5 plus year history of the SHARC II camera and anecdotal comparison with past work.

bolometer detectors↗

Fabrication of Ultrasensitive Transition Edge Sensor Bolometric Detectors for HIRMES

The high resolution mid-infrared spectrometer (HIRMES) is a high resolving power (R approx. 100,000) instrument operating in the 25-122 micron spectral range and will fly on board the Stratospheric Observatory for Far-Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) in 2019. Central ot HIRMES are its two transition edge sensor (TES) bolometric cameras, an 8x16 detector high resolution array and a 64x16 detector low resolution array. Both types of detectors consist of MoAu TES fabricated on leg-isolated Si membranes. Whereas the high resolution detectors, with noise equivalent power (NEP) approx. 2 aW/square root of (Hz), are fabricated on 0.45 micron Si substrates, the low resolution detectors, with NEP approx. 10 aW/square root of (Hz), are fabricated on 1.40 micron Si. Here we discuss the similarities and difference in the fabrication methodologies used to realize the two types of detectors.

Detectors↗

A Path to High Efficiency Optical Coupling for HIRMES

The high-resolution mid-infrared spectrometer (HIRMES) under development for SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) is an instrument operating in the 25-122 μm spectral range with a spectral resolution R= Δ ʎ /ʎ ~100,000 and has two absorber-coupled transition edge sensor (TES) bolometric detector focal planes. We have developed novel NbTiN low stress absorber coatings which have the required optical impedance across the HIRMES operating band. The low intrinsic stress of these coatings allow for a peak-to-valley corrugation amplitude < 5 μm of the 450 nm thick, 1.4 mm x 1.7 mm detector pixels. Furthermore, these coatings have a superconducting transition temperature ~ 10 K, which allows them to simultaneously serve as an absorber in the desired signal band and a rejection filter at long wavelengths. This attribute makes them especially attractive for ultrasensitive absorber-coupled bolometric detector applications, because it helps in controlling the optical loading from out-of band radiation. We also discuss a novel method for integrating a wedged reflective absorber-termination to the detector array.

bolometers↗

The Planck Mission

Planck, scheduled for launch in 2007, will be the third space mission to observe the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Two cryogenic instruments and an off-axis telescope will provide an unprecedented combination of sensitivity, angular resolution, and frequency coverage. Planck is designed to measure the temperature anisotropies of the CMB to limits set not by the instruments, but rather by the Universe itself. In addition, it will measure the E-type polarization of the CMB, and provide all-sky surveys at nine frequencies between 30 and 857GHz.

cosmic↗

Submicron-Long HTS Hot-Electron Mixers

We have measured the device length and temperature dependence of the intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth and noise of hot-electron bolometert (HEB) mixers made from a high-T***subc*** superconductor.

hot-electron↗