A 25-micrometer Single-Photon-Sensitive Kinetic Inductance Detector
We report measurements characterizing the performance of a kinetic inductance detector array designed for a wavelength of 25 microns and very low optical background level suitable for applications such as a far-infrared instrument on a cryogenically cooled space telescope. In a pulse-counting mode of operation at low optical flux, the detectors can resolve individual 25-micron photons. In an integrating mode, the detectors remain photon noise limited over more than 6 orders of magnitude in absorbed power from 70 zW to 200 fW, with a limiting noise equivalent power of <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><a:mrow><a:mn>4.6</a:mn><a:mo>×</a:mo><a:msup><a:mn>10</a:mn><a:mrow><a:mo>−</a:mo><a:mn>20</a:mn></a:mrow></a:msup><a:mtext> </a:mtext><a:mtext> </a:mtext><a:mi mathvariant="normal">W</a:mi><a:mtext> </a:mtext><a:msup><a:mi>Hz</a:mi><a:mrow><a:mo>−</a:mo><a:mn>1</a:mn></a:mrow></a:msup></a:mrow></a:math> at 1 Hz. In addition, the detectors are highly stable with flat power spectra under optical load down to 1 mHz. Operational parameters of the detector are determined including the efficiency of conversion of the incident optical power into quasiparticles in the aluminum absorbing element and the quasiparticle self-recombination constant. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Authors
- Thomas R. Stevenson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6221-2357)
- C. M. Bradford
- Peter K. Day (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3670-9017)
- P. M. Echternach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9643-5110)
- R. Basu Thakur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3351-3078)
- Shahab O. Dabironezare (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9032-2227)
- Byeong Ho Eom (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0976-0861)
- J. J. A. Baselmans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3385-7305)
- Nicholas F. Cothard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6151-6292)
- H. G. LeDuc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6721-5271)
- Sven van Berkel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0088-768X)
- Steven Hailey-Dunsheath (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8504-7988)
- Logan Foote (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4162-8609)
- Andrew D. Beyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1045-1652)
- R. M. J. Janssen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9122-9668)
- Christopher G. Albert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4773-416X)
- Jason Glenn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7527-2017)
- Elijah Kane
Institutions
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- Space Research Organisation Netherlands (NL)
- Delft University of Technology (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review X
- Published
- 2024-10-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.14.041005
- Citations
- 15
- Primary Topic
- Superconducting and THz Device Technology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.97
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities
- California Institute of Technology
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Goddard Space Flight Center