Optical Designs for Large Detector Arrays on Spherical-Primary Orbital/Sub-Orbital Telescopes

We discuss the guidelines to the optical design for relatively small-aperture sub-millimeter telescopes employing a spherical primary and large-format bolometer arrays. Although optical solutions for large ground optical telescopes using a spherical primary are discussed in the literature, these configurations are not acceptable for orbital or sub-orbital platforms. As a baseline telescope design we will use BLAST, the Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Sub-millimeter Telescope, which will be employing bolometer arrays at 250 m, 350m and 500 m, and will carry a 2.0 m spherical primary mirror during the first flight. We examine two different sets of optical solutions that might be used on future spherical-primary small aperture telescopes: first, we discuss configurations employing on-axis optical elements to correct the spherical aberration introduced by the primary. Then, we present several optical solutions using off-axis, cooled mirrors. These configurations are discussed in relation to optical performance and various operational design constraints. A preliminary optical design for BLAST is also discussed.     

Experimental study of a normal-metal hot electron bolometer with capacitive coupling

Normal-metal hot-electron bolometer with capacitive coupling (CCNHEB) is a further development of the concept of a normal-metal hot-electron bolometer with Andreev mirrors (ANHEB). It was proposed to eliminate the frequency and energy restrictions inherent in ANHEB, in which Andreev mirrors act efficiently only with relatively long absorbers and at energies below the superconducting gap. An important advantage of the CCNHEB is its simple topology, in which the same tunnel junctions provide thermal decoupling, noise protection, temperature measurement, and it can be used for electron cooling. The temperature response of the bolometer was measured at temperatures down to 260 mK. The observed response dV/dT=1.7mV/K corresponds to the sensitivity S=0.4×10⁹V/W. The measured noise at the amplifier output with this sample was found to be V _na =4nV/Hz^1/2, which corresponds to a noise-equivalent power of 10^?17W/Hz^1/2. To measure optical response, black-body radiation was used as a source of signal inside the cryostat. The source was a thin NiCr film sputtered on a thin sapphire substrate and suspended by nylon threads. Optical measurements proved to be in good agreement with the dc measurements.     

Propagation of ballistic phonons in crystals and their detection with a detachable bolometer

Ballistic phonons were generated in single-crystalline sapphire samples by scanning the crystal surface with the electron beam in a scanning electron microscope equipped with a low-temperature stage. The phonons were detected using a superconducting thin film (granular Al) bolometer configuration which could be detached from the sample crystal (allowing repeated use). We have applied these experimental techniques for obtaining phonon images of laser-drilled holes in the sample crystals, achieving a spatial resolution of better than 10 m.     

Quasioptical superconducting hot electron bolometer for submillmeter waves

We report on a superconducting hot electron bolometer coupled to radiation via a broadband antenna. The bolometer, a structured NbN film, was patterned on a thin dielectric membrane between terminals of a gold slotline antenna. We investigated the response to submillimeter radiation (wave-lengths 0.1 mm to 0.7 mm) in the fundamental Gaussian mode. We found that the directivity of the antenna was constant within a factor of 2.5 through the whole experimental range. The noise equivalent power of the bolometer at 119 µm was 3 · 10^–13 W/Hz^1/2; a time constant of 160 ps was estimated.     

Seven matched bolometers for millimeter wave observations

We have fabricated a millimeter wave observation system using an array of bolometric detectors. The performance of the system depends largely on obtaining identical performance from each bolometer. We achieved a variance in the responsivity of less than 4% except for one of the seven elements. The bolometers had an electrical NEP of 1.3×10^–16 W/Hz under radiation background loading of 30pW. We used an AC bridge readout circuit to significantly improve the stability of the array and showed that observations can be done without a mechanical beam switch. The bolometer array is now in use on the Nobeyama 45-m telescope for 150GHz observations.H. Matsuo thanks those who helped him work on bolometers during his stay in Berkeley, especially to T. Wilbanks, M. Devlin and C. Inman. The authors are also grateful to S. Sato and T. Watabe at Nagoya University for their advice on the AC bridge circuit. This work is partly supported by the Shimazdu Science Foundation.     

A 350GHz Radial-Probe SIS Mixer for Astronomical Imaging Arrays

We have developed a 330-370GHz SIS mixer for small-format, heterodyne, astronomical imaging arrays. Fixed-tuned broadband operation is achieved by means of a superconducting radial waveguide probe. A horn-reflector antenna provides high-efficiency optical coupling. Using a variable-temperature cryogenic noise source, we measured a DSB system noise temperature of 32±1K. The mixer contributes 3±3K, supporting the theoretically-predicted result that the noise temperature of a DSB mixer can be less than h/2 (8.6K)     

High TcYBa2Cu3O7−δ superconducting transition-edge microbolometers

High T_c superconducting thin film YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO) bolometers have been fabricated on various substrates such as MgO, LaAlO₃, YSZ and Si using laser ablation technique. Performance of these IR bolometers operating with a Joule-Thomson refrigerator has been investigated. Measurements of the responsivity and low frequency noise near T_c in the current biased YBCO bolometers show that reliable devices can be fabricated. Measured noise equivalent power (NEP), for YBCO/YSZ bolometer, reaches 6 × 10⁻¹⁰W/Hz^1/2 at 165 Hz and has a responsivity of 60 V/W with a blackbody source. This performance is comparable to that of the optimized pyroelectric detectors. The characteristics of YBCO films deposited on Si substrates reveal that superconducting thin film multi-elements or focal plane array with silicon integrated readout circuit are feasible. Such bolometers exhibit NEP of 7 × 10⁻⁹W/Hz^1/2, and significant improvement appears possible. Electrical measurements show no noticeable film degradation after the bolometer is exposed to atmosphere for three months.     

Submillimeter-wave antennas on thin membranes

Submillimeter-wave antennas have been fabricated on 1-m thick silicon-oxynitride membranes. This approach results in better patterns than previous lens-coupled antennas, and eliminates the dielectric loss associated with the substrate lens. Measurements on a wideband log-periodic antenna at 700 GHz, 370 GHz and 167 GHz show no sidelobes and 3-dB beamwidths between 40° and 60°. A linear imaging array has similar patterns at 700 GHz. Possible applications for membrane antennas include wideband superconducting tunnel-junction receivers for radio astronomy and imaging arrays for radiometry and plasma diagnostics.     

Thermo-electric charge-to-voltage converter with superconductor–insulator–normal tunnel junction for bolometer applications

A novel type of the zero-biased thermo-electric bolometer (TEB) is proposed. The bolometer is based on a charge-to-voltage converter (CVC) with a superconductor–insulator–normal (SIN) tunnel junction and a superconducting absorber. The absorption of photons in the absorber leads to excitation of quasiparticles with some fraction of charge imbalance, tunneling through the SIN junction in zero-biased mode and generation of voltage. The thermoelectric voltage is determined by accumulation of tunneling charge in an external capacitance. Conversion efficiency is very high and voltage values comparable with a superconducting gap are easily achieved. The zero-biased CVC–TEB can be effectively used for creation of an array of bolometers and multi-pixel detection systems.     

Double Beta Decay Experiments with Thermal Detectors

Massive low temperature particle detectors and their possible impacts on searches for neutrinoless double beta decay (O-DBD) are presented and discussed. In particular, the experimental work of the Milano group is described. Special relevance is given to the present status of the search for O-DBD of ¹³⁰Te and to the possible expansion of this experiment in the near future. The most recent results obtained by the Milano-Gran Sasso collaboration with a 20 bolometer array are presented. On the basis of these results, the construction of a 42 kg array consisting of 56 TeO₂ bolometers (CUORICINO project), to extend the sensitivity of the present experiment, has been proposed. CUORICINO should represent also a feasibility test for a large array of 1000 bolometers (CUORE project) aiming at the search for neutrinoless Double Beta Decay, Cold Dark Matter and Solar Axions with extremely high sensitivity.     

Linear High-Tc YBa2Cu3O7?δ Superconducting Thin Film Infrared Detectors Coupled with a Cylindrical Microlens Array in Quartz Glass Substrate

Monolithic linear cylindrical microlens array in a quartz glass substrate is fabricated using photolithography and ion beam etching technique, the high-Tc YBa₂Cu₃O_7– superconducting thin films are deposited through excimer laser scanning ablation, the superconducting thin films are patterned by photolithographic method and ion beam etching technique, and the hybrid structure of the microlens array component and the superconducting IR detectors has been obtained using an IR glue to cement the microlens component onto the superconducting device. We also investigate the optical response characteristics of the hybrid device in the optical spectral region of 1 ~ 5 m, as follows. The average optical responsivity of the hybrid device is 1.6×10⁴ V/W, average noise equivalent power is 2.3×10^–12 WHz^–1/2, average detectvity is 3.2×10⁹ cmHz^1/2W^–1, and the non-uniformity of detectvity (D*) is not more than 14%. The experimental results show that the performance of the superconducting device is improved notably using a quartz glass refractive microlens array as the incident IR radiation concentrators.     

Characteristics of Radio Telescopes with Multielement Microstrip Focal Arrays

We calculate beam patterns (BPs) and power characteristics of radio telescopes in the multibeam regime with the use of different types of microstrip focal arrays. A terrace design of focal array for illumination of the asymmetric secondary mirror of the RATAN-600 radio telescope and a symmetric paraboloid dish is proposed. Ways for optimization of this type of array are considered. Characteristics of a radio telescope with a millimeter-wave planar circularly polarized focal array are calculated. Some applications of multibeam microstrip focal arrays are considered.__________Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika,Vol.48, No. 2, pp. 95–109, February 2005     

Spectral baseline ripple in hot-electron bolometer mixers due to local oscillator phase and amplitude instabilities

High resolution millimetre and submillimetre wave astronomical spectrometers using hot-electron bolometer mixers as detectors often show marked standing wave patterns in the spectral baseline. LO phase noise contributes through two mechanisms: the phase noise side-bands may be converted to amplitude noise in the source because of the power-frequency characteristic of the source, or they can be converted to in-band amplitude noise through the action of the quasi-optical discriminator formed by the mixer, beam-splitter and telescope structure. The baseline ripple components due to each of these mechanisms have different characteristic periods, and under some circumstances can dominate the spectrometer baseline. The ripple levels estimated using the theory agree well with those observed in practice. It is shown that with careful design systematic effects due to this cause can be reduced to a negligible level.     

Multiplexed sorting of libraries on libraries: A novel method for empirical protein design by affinity-driven phage enrichment on synthetic peptide arrays

Chemically synthesized peptide arrays on planar cellulose carriers are proposed as libraries of ligands suitable for the multiplexed simultaneous capture of peptide-specific acceptor proteins from a large randomly mutagenized library of acceptor proteins presented on bacteriophage M13 particles. This experimental set-up can be exploited to rapidly screen for individual new, distinct binding partners from two complementary libraries (two-dimensional screening). The technical feasibility of this empirical protein design approach was demonstrated with calmodulin as an aceptor protein using an array of mastoparan variants for multiplexed phage affinity enrichment.     

The surface plasmon resonance of metal-film nanohole arrays

In this paper we investigated the enhanced transmission and surface plasmon resonance through a thin gold film with a periodic array of subwavelength nanoholes. Both freestanding gold-film nanohole arrays and gold-film nanohole arrays deposited on a gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate are considered. Periodic arrays of nanoholes exhibit two different surface plasmon resonance features: localized waveguide resonance and the well-recognized photonic crystal resonance. The tangential electric field component $Ey$ is nonzero only in the hole region for a freestanding gold-film nanohole array, but it can exist in the hole region and in the metallic region for a gold-film nanohole array deposited on a GaAs substrate.     

Optimization procedures for metal-coated NSOM aperture array

Recently, there has been tremendous interest in near-field optical lithographic techniques for gigabyte portable information storage devices. The near-field optical lithographic technique will circumvent the classical diffraction limit and therefore can provide sub-wavelength-size patterns. For a potential near-field optical probe, a novel technique for the nano-fabrication of sub-wavelength-size aperture arrays has been developed based on semiconductor batch fabrication technology. Hollow pyramidal type 50×50 and 25×25 SiO₂ nano-aperture arrays have been fabricated through the following procedures: square-dot array patterning, V-groove formation, thermal oxidation at a concave Si surface, backside Si etching, and nano-aperture opening by SiO₂ etching using HF solution. The average diameter of the fabricated 50×50 nano-size aperture array was measured to be 260 nm and the deviation to be less than 10%. For the purpose of completing a metal-coated array, metal deposition including Ti and Al was carried out. Next, thermal annealing and preliminary laser annealing experiments were performed in order to obtain better surface characteristics such as adhesion and better surface morphology around the metal-coated apertures. PACS 81.65.Cf; 81.65.Mq; 52.77.Bn; 85.40.Hp; 81.15.Ef; 68.35.Fx; 61.80.Ba     

Hyperfine interactions in isolated ions

Conclusion It has been demonstrated that the effect of a tilted multifoil array on an ensemble of nuclei approaches a regular precession in a field of magnitude pH in the direction of the tilt axis. The magnitude of the precession can, under certain circumstances, be considerably larger than in a transient field, the only other method available today for measurements in the picosecond range. The technology of multifoil arrays has not been fully mastered to date, the immediate objective being the construction of arrays which keep their shape and spacings for many hours in a particle beam.     

Two Dimensional Array of Antenna-Coupled Microbolometers

Antenna-coupled microbolometers are known for having short time constants and high responsivity, but their small dimensions make them unsuitable for imaging applications where a typical pixel area is generally greater than 20 × 20 m². In this paper a two dimensional array of antenna-coupled microbolometers is demonstrated as an area receiver. Using the response of microbolometers to visible frequencies a two-dimensional diagnostic scan in the visible was performed on these arrays which allowed measurement of their homogeneity. Frequency response measurements gave time constants around 130 nsec, similar to the ones obtained for single element microbolometers which indicates that a detector of virtually any size can be fabricated without sacrificing time response. Response and noise measurements show lower noise and higher responsivity compared to single element microbolometers. These results make two-dimensional arrays of antenna-coupled microbolometers a promising option for development of pixels in infrared focal plane arrays.