Demonstration of a high-resolution virtually imaged phased array in the far-infrared
We present, to our knowledge, the first measurement of the spectral performance of a compact, cryogenically cooled, silicon-based virtually imaged phased array (VIPA) at far-infrared wavelengths. Our cryogenic (4 K) characterization, performed in-house using a quantum-cascade laser (115.7 µm) and a pyroelectric detector, resulted in a spectral resolution of approximately <i>R</i>∼16,300. A far-infrared VIPA is compact, has no moving parts, and delivers an instantaneous multi-element spectrum dispersed in exit angle so that it can be recorded with a detector array. It, therefore, has the potential to be a transformative technology for balloon- and space-borne velocity-resolved astrophysics investigations in the far-infrared.
Authors
- Willem Jellema (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4837-9553)
- Jake Connors (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6094-2943)
- John E. Mentzell
- Wilt Kao
- Thomas Nikola
- G. J. Stacey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1260-5448)
- Karwan Rostem (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4189-0700)
- Bugao Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5032-8587)
- A. Kutyrev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2715-8460)
- Alan Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6722-6889)
- Edward J. Wollack (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7567-4451)
- Nicholas Cothard
Institutions
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- Lightwave Photonics (United States) (US)
- Space Research Organisation Netherlands (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Applied Optics
- Published
- 2025-03-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.555589
- Primary Topic
- Antenna Design and Optimization
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00