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A microwave superconducting quantum interference device multiplexer has been optimized for reading out large arrays of superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers. We present the scalable cryogenic multiplexer chip design that may be used to construct an 1820-channel multiplexer for the 4–8 GHz rf band. The key metrics of yield, sensitivity, and crosstalk are determined through measurements of 455 readout channels, which span 4–5 GHz. The median white-noise level is 45 pA/ Hz , evaluated at 2 Hz, with a 1/f knee ≤ 20 mHz after common-mode subtraction. The white-noise level decreases the sensitivity of a TES bolometer optimized for detection of the cosmic microwave background at 150 GHz by only 3%. The measured crosstalk between any channel pair is ≤ 0.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key performance characteristics are demonstrated for the microwave superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) multiplexer (μmux) coupled to transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers that have been optimized for cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations. In a 64-channel demonstration, we show that the μmux produces a white, input referred current noise level of 29 pA at a microwave probe tone power of -77 dB, which is well below the expected fundamental detector and photon noise sources for a ground-based CMB-optimized bolometer. Operated with negligible photon loading, we measure 98 pA in the TES-coupled channels biased at 65% of the sensor normal resistance. This noise level is consistent with that predicted from bolometer thermal fluctuation (i.e., phonon) noise. Furthermore, the power spectral density is white over a range of frequencies down to ~100mHz, which enables CMB mapping on large angular scales that constrain the physics of inflation. Additionally, we report cross-talk measurements that indicate a level below 0.3%, which is less than the level of cross-talk from multiplexed readout systems in deployed CMB imagers. These measurements demonstrate the μmux as a viable readout technique for future CMB imaging instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization sensitive, microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) are under development for the next generation BLAST instrument (BLAST-TNG). BLAST-TNG is a balloon-borne submillimeter polarimeter designed to study magnetic fields in diffuse dust regions and molecular clouds. We present the design and performance of feedhorn-coupled, dual-polarization sensitive MKIDs fabricated from TiN/Ti multilayer films, which have been optimized for the 250 $$\upmu $$ m band. Measurements show effective selection of linear polarization and good electrical isolation between the orthogonally crossed X and Y detectors within a single spatial pixel. The detector cross-polar coupling is $$<$$ 3 %. Passband measurements are presented, which demonstrate that the desired band-edges (1.0-1.4 THz) have been achieved. We find a near linear response to the optical load from a blackbody source, which has been observed in previous devices fabricated from TiN. Blackbody-coupled noise measurements demonstrate that the sensitivity of the detectors is limited by photon noise when the optical load is greater than 1 pW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Microwave SQUID Multiplexer Demonstration for Cosmic Microwave Background Imagers" that was published in the previous issue is presented.

We present magnetic field sensitivity measurements of microwave SQUID multiplexers designed for bolometric applications. These devices are often used in environments with changing external magnetic fields, due to either motion through Earth's field or radiation from other pieces of instrumentation. To minimize the pickup of magnetic fields, these multiplexers utilize gradiometric SQUIDs, but residual pickup remains and must be characterized in order to design adequate magnetic shielding for a given application. To study the perpendicular field response, we utilize a single-axis cryogenic Helmholtz coil mounted to the mixing chamber of a dilution refrigerator, calibrated with a cryogenic fluxgate magnetometer. Measurements were made on multiplexer devices across varying microwave readout frequencies for AC magnetic fields from 0.01 to 100 Hz. We measure the magnetic field sensitivity of the multiplexer devices to be 0.1–0.3 ϕ 0 /Gauss, equivalent to an effective area of gradiometric failure of 2–6 μm 2 .Please check if the corresponding author affiliation is correctly identified.This looks correct to me. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microwave SQUID multiplexer (μmux) has enabled higher bandwidth or higher channel counts across a wide range of experiments in particle physics, astronomy, and spectroscopy. The large multiplexing factor coupled with recent commercial availability of microwave components and warm electronics readout systems make it an attractive candidate for systems requiring large cryogenic detector counts. Since the multiplexer is considered for both bolometric and calorimetric applications across several orders of magnitude of signal frequencies, understanding the bandwidth of the device and its interaction with readout electronics is key to appropriately designing and engineering systems. Here, we discuss several important factors contributing to the bandwidth properties of μ mux systems, including the intrinsic device bandwidth, interactions with warm electronics readout systems, and aliasing. We present simulations and measurements of μ mux devices coupled with SLAC Microresonator RF (SMuRF) tone-tracking electronics and discuss several implications for future experimental design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a cryogenic wafer mapper based on light emitting diodes (LEDs) for spatial mapping of a large microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) array. In this scheme, an array of LEDs, addressed by DC wires and collimated through horns onto the detectors, is mounted in front of the detector wafer. By illuminating each LED individually and sweeping the frequency response of all the resonators, we can unambiguously correspond a detector pixel to its measured resonance frequency. We have demonstrated mapping a 76.2mm 90-pixel MKID array using a mapper containing 126 LEDs with 16 DC bias wires. With the frequency to pixel-position correspondence data obtained by the LED mapper, we have found a radially position-dependent frequency nonuniformity of ≾1:6% over the 76.2mm wafer. Our LED wafer mapper has no moving parts and is easy to implement. It may find broad applications in superconducting detectors and quantum computing/information experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe an on-sky demonstration of a microwave-multiplexing readout system in one of the receivers of the Keck Array, a polarimetry experiment observing the cosmic microwave background at the South Pole. During the austral summer of 2018–2019, we replaced the time-division multiplexing readout system with microwave-multiplexing components including superconducting microwave resonators coupled to radio frequency superconducting quantum interference devices at the sub-Kelvin focal plane, coaxial-cable plumbing and amplification between room temperature and the cold stages, and a SLAC Microresonator Radio Frequency system for the warm electronics. In the range 5–6 GHz, a single coaxial cable reads out 528 channels. The readout system is coupled to transition-edge sensors, which are in turn coupled to 150-GHz slot-dipole phased-array antennas. Observations began in April 2019, and we report here on an initial characterization of the system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the design and measurement of feedhorn-coupled, transition-edge sensor (TES) polarimeters with two passbands centered at 220 GHz and 280 GHz, intended for observations of the cosmic microwave background. Each pixel couples polarized light in two linear polarizations by use of a planar orthomode transducer and senses power via four TES bolometers, one for each band in each linear polarization. Previous designs of this detector architecture incorporated passbands from 27 to 220 GHz; we now demonstrate this technology at frequencies up to 315 GHz. Observational passbands are defined with an on-chip diplexer, and Fourier-transform-spectrometer measurements are in excellent agreement with simulations. We find coupling from feedhorn to TES bolometer using a cryogenic, temperature-controlled thermal source. We determine the optical efficiency of our device is η = 77 % ± 6 % ( 75 % ± 5 % ) for 220 (280) GHz, relative to the designed passband shapes. Lastly, we compare two power-termination schemes commonly used in wide-bandwidth millimeter-wave polarimeters and find equal performance in terms of optical efficiency and passband shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) whose sensitivity is limited by photon noise at signal frequencies as low as 50 mHz. The subhertz part of the detection spectrum is important for contemporary millimeter-wave science, yet photon noise below 1 Hz in MKIDs has not previously been unambiguously demonstrated. These feedhorn-coupled detectors are sensitive over a 40% fractional bandwidth centered on λ = 2 mm, are dual-polarization-sensitive, and consist of lumped-element superconducting resonators fabricated from a hybrid of stoichiometric TiN and Al films together with an amorphous-Si passivation layer. When observing a 7 K, 3.8 pW thermal load and employing no signal modulation scheme, the measured noise spectrum is white down to 50 mHz and has an amplitude consistent with photon noise. These results have implications for the development of large-format, polarization-sensitive, millimeter-wave imagers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-temperature detector technologies provide extraordinary sensitivity for applications ranging from precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background to high-resolution, high-rate x-ray, and γ-ray spectroscopy. To utilize this sensitivity, new instruments are being built, and new instruments are imagined, with ever greater pixel counts, but the scale of these instruments is limited by the capability of the readout electronics. Microwave SQUID multiplexing addresses the needs of these future instruments, exploiting gigahertz of bandwidths of coaxial cables and broadband components to combine hundreds to thousands of signals on a single readout line. A key feature of any multiplexer is the level of crosstalk between input channels. This crosstalk can degrade the sensitivity of the instrument, introduce systematic error, or simply confound data analysis. In this letter, we explain the primary mechanisms of crosstalk in a microwave SQUID multiplexer, calculate and measure their magnitude, and consider their effect and methods of mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review advances in low-temperature detector (LTD) arrays for cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiments, with a particular emphasis on imaging arrays. We briefly motivate the science case, which has spurred a large number of independent experimental efforts. We describe the challenges associated with CMB polarization measurements, and how these challenges impact LTD design. Key aspects of an ideal CMB polarization imaging array are developed and compared to the current state of the art. These aspects include dual-polarization sensitivity, background-limited detection over a 10:1 bandwidth ratio, and frequency-independent angular responses. Although existing technology lacks all of this capability, today’s CMB imaging arrays achieve many of these ideals and are highly advanced superconducting integrated circuits. Deployed arrays map the sky with pixels that contain elements for beam formation, polarization diplexing, passband definition in multiple frequency channels, and bolometric sensing. Several detector architectures are presented. We comment on the implementation of both transition-edge sensor bolometers and microwave kinetic inductance detectors for CMB applications. Lastly, we discuss fabrication capability in the context of next-generation instruments that call for ∼106 sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large arrays of cryogenic sensors for various imaging applications ranging across x-ray, gamma-ray, cosmic microwave background, mm/sub-mm, as well as particle detection increasingly rely on superconducting microresonators for high multiplexing factors. These microresonators take the form of microwave SQUIDs that couple to transition-edge sensors or microwave kinetic inductance detectors. In principle, such arrays can be read out with vastly scalable software-defined radio using suitable FPGAs, ADCs and DACs. In this work, we share plans and show initial results for SLAC Microresonator Radio Frequency (SMuRF) electronics, a next-generation control and readout system for superconducting microresonators. SMuRF electronics are unique in their implementation of specialized algorithms for closed-loop tone tracking, which consists of fast feedback and feedforward to each resonator’s excitation parameters based on transmission measurements. Closed-loop tone tracking enables improved system linearity, a significant increase in sensor count per readout line, and the possibility of overcoupled resonator designs for enhanced dynamic range. Low-bandwidth prototype electronics were used to demonstrate closed-loop tone tracking on twelve 300-kHz-wide microwave SQUID resonators, spaced at ∼ 6 MHz with center frequencies ∼ 5-6 GHz. We achieve multi-kHz tracking bandwidth and demonstrate that the noise floor of the electronics is subdominant to the noise intrinsic in the multiplexer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) provide a compelling path forward to the large-format polarimeter, imaging, and spectrometer arrays needed for next-generation experiments in millimeter-wave cosmology and astronomy. We describe the development of feedhorn-coupled MKID detectors for the TolTEC millimeter-wave imaging polarimeter being constructed for the 50-m Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT). Observations with TolTEC are planned to begin in early 2019. TolTEC will comprise ∼7000 polarization-sensitive MKIDs and will represent the first MKID arrays fabricated and deployed on monolithic 150 mm diameter silicon wafers—a critical step toward future large-scale experiments with over 105 detectors. TolTEC will operate in observational bands at 1.1, 1.4, and 2.0 mm and will use dichroic filters to define a physically independent focal plane for each passband, thus allowing the polarimeters to use simple, direct-absorption inductive structures that are impedance matched to incident radiation. This work is part of a larger program at NIST-Boulder to develop MKID-based detector technologies for use over a wide range of photon energies spanning millimeter-waves to X-rays. We present the detailed pixel layout and describe the methods, tools, and flexible design parameters that allow this solution to be optimized for use anywhere in the millimeter and sub-millimeter bands. We also present measurements of prototype devices operating in the 1.1 mm band and compare the observed optical performance to that predicted from models and simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the next decade, new ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments such as Simons Observatory, CCAT-prime, and CMB-S4 will increase the number of detectors observing the CMB by an order of magnitude or more, dramatically improving our understanding of cosmology and astrophysics. These projects will deploy receivers with as many as hundreds of thousands of transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers coupled to superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID)-based readout systems. It is well known that superconducting devices such as TESes and SQUIDs are sensitive to magnetic fields. However, the effects of magnetic fields on TESes are not easily predicted due to the complex behavior of the superconducting transition, which motivates direct measurements of the magnetic sensitivity of these devices. We present comparative four-lead measurements of the critical temperature versus applied magnetic field of AlMn TESes varying in geometry, doping, and leg length, including Advanced ACT and POLARBEAR-2/Simons Array bolometers. MoCu ACTPol TESes are also tested and are found to be more sensitive to magnetic fields than the AlMn devices. We present an observation of weak-link-like behavior in AlMn TESes at low critical currents. We also compare measurements of magnetic sensitivity for time division multiplexing SQUIDs and frequency division multiplexing microwave (μMUX) rf-SQUIDs. We discuss the implications of our measurements on the magnetic shielding required for future experiments that aim to map the CMB to near-fundamental limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a wafer trimming technique for producing superconducting micro-resonator arrays with highly uniform frequency spacing. With the light-emitting diode mapper technique demonstrated previously, we first map the measured resonance frequencies to the physical resonators. Then, we fine-tune each resonator's frequency by lithographically trimming a small length, calculated from the deviation of the measured frequency from its design value, from the interdigitated capacitor. We demonstrate this technique on a 127-resonator array made from titanium-nitride and show that the uniformity of frequency spacing is greatly improved. The array yield in terms of frequency collisions improves from 84% to 97%, while the quality factors and noise properties are unaffected. The wafer trimming technique provides an easy-to-implement tool to improve the yield and multiplexing density of large resonator arrays, which is important for various applications in photon detection and quantum computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of elements in most cryogenic sensor arrays is limited by the technology available to multiplex signals from the arrays into a smaller number of wires and readout amplifiers. The largest demonstrated arrays of transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters contain roughly 250 detectors and use time-division multiplexing with Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs). The bandwidth limits of this technology constrain the number of sensors per amplifier chain, a quantity known as the multiplexing factor, to several 10s. With microwave SQUID multiplexing, we can expand the readout bandwidth and enable much larger multiplexing factors. While microwave SQUID multiplexing of TES microcalorimeters has been previously demonstrated with small numbers of detectors, we now present a fully scalable demonstration in which 128 TES detectors are read out on a single pair of coaxial cables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MUSTANG-2 is a 90 GHz feedhorn-coupled, microwave SQUID-multiplexed TES bolometer array in the final stages of development for operation on the 100-m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. We present the camera design and report the performance during the first season of observation, in which 64 of the available 215 pixels in the focal plane were populated. We highlight the microwave multiplexing readout technology, which is envisioned as a path to read out the next generation of large pixel-count cryogenic focal planes. In this regard, MUSTANG2 is a pathfinder for this multiplexing technology. We present noise spectra which show no detector noise degradation when read out with microwave SQUID multiplexing, and we present first light images of Jupiter and M87, which demonstrate the end-to-end system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate photon-noise limited performance at sub-millimeter wavelengths in feedhorncoupled, microwave kinetic inductance detectors made of a TiN/Ti/TiN trilayer superconducting film, tuned to have a transition temperature of 1.4 K. Micro-machining of the silicon-on-insulator wafer backside creates a quarter-wavelength backshort optimized for efficient coupling at 250 μm. Using frequency read out and when viewing a variable temperature blackbody source, we measure device noise consistent with photon noise when the incident optical power is >0.5 pW, corresponding to noise equivalent powers >3 ╳ 10-17W/√Hz . This sensitivity makes these devices suitable for broadband photometric applications at these wavelengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate photon-noise limited performance at sub-millimeter wavelengths in feedhorncoupled, microwave kinetic inductance detectors made of a TiN/Ti/TiN trilayer superconducting film, tuned to have a transition temperature of 1.4 K. Micro-machining of the silicon-on-insulator wafer backside creates a quarter-wavelength backshort optimized for efficient coupling at 250 im. Using frequency read out and when viewing a variable temperature blackbody source, we measure device noise consistent with photon noise when the incident optical power is >0.5 pW, corresponding to noise equivalent powers >3 × 10-17 W/√Hz. This sensitivity makes these devices suitable for broadband photometric applications at these wavelengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes MUSTANG 2, a 338 element focal plane array that is being built for the Green Bank Telescope. Each element consists of a profiled feedhorn coupled to two transition edge sensor bolometers, one for each polarization. Initial deployment will be with 32 detectors, but once fully populated, MUSTANG 2 will be capable of mapping a $$8'\times 8'$$ area to $$23~\upmu $$ Jy in 1 h with good image fidelity on angular scales from $$9''$$ to $$6'$$ . As well as an instrument overview, the choice of bandpass and the design of the feeds, detectors and readout are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are developing arrays of kinetic inductance detectors for sub-millimeter polarimetry that will be deployed on the BLAST balloon-borne instrument. The array is feedhorn-coupled, and each pixel contains two lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) made of TiN. The absorbing, inductive sections of the LEKID-pair are orthogonal, which allows simultaneous measurement of both horizontal and vertical polarizations within one spatial pixel. In this paper, we show efficient absorption in TiN films when coupled to waveguide at room temperature and present dark measurements of single polarization devices with varying capacitor geometries. We show that it will be difficult to achieve background-limited performance in BLAST with stoichiometric TiN films with T $$_{c}=4.5$$ K, and that non-stoichiometric films with lower T $$_{c}$$ will be required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]