Bram Lap | Searcharxiv

arXiv2025

Demonstration of Ultra-Sensitive KIDs for Future THz Space Borne Polarimeters

We present measurements and simulations of the polarization purity of leaky lens-antenna coupled microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) at 1.5 THz. We find the integrated cross-polarization level to be at -21.5 dB for 1 f\#$\lambda$ spatial sampling. The measurements agree well with the theoretical description which is based on a combination of in-transmission simulation of the antenna feed, and an in-reception analysis of the antenna-KID system. Combined with the measured noise equivalent power of 5--7$\times$10$^{-20}$ W/$\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$, these detectors are excellent candidates for large scale and high performance imaging polarimetric instruments.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

Applying Energy Absorption Interferometry to THz direct detectors using photomixers

Detector requirements for far infrared astronomy generally result in devices which exhibit a few-moded response to incident radiation. The sensitivity and spatial form of the individual modes to which such a detector is sensitive can be determined with knowledge of the complex valued cross-spectral density of the system, which we label the detector response function (DRF). A matrix representing the discretized cross-spectral density can be measured from the complex amplitudes of interference fringes generated by two identical sources as they are independently scanned through the field of view. We provide experimental verification of this technique using monochromatic THz beams generated by photomixers in which the relative phase is varied with fiber stretchers. We use this system to characterize the modal response of a single pixel from an array of microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs).

astro-ph.IM↗