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The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is an instrument of ESA's future NewAthena space observatory, with the goal to provide high-energy resolution ($<$ 4 eV at X-ray energies up to 7 keV) and high-spatial resolution (9") spectroscopic imaging over the X-ray energy range from 200 eV to 12 keV, by means of an array of about 1500 transition-edge sensors (TES) read out via SQUID time-division multiplexing (TDM). In 2022, to aid in the transfer of TDM readout technology from the laboratory toward flight hardware, our team commissioned a new TDM-based laboratory test-bed at SRON. This setup hosts an array of $75\times 75\ \mu$m$^2$ TESs that are read out via 2-column $\times$ 32-row TDM. A system component that is critical to high-performance operation is the wiring harness that connects the room-temperature electronics to the cryogenic readout componentry. In November 2023, we implemented a re-designed flex harness, which in the SRON test-bed has a length close to what is envisioned for the X-IFU flight harness. We report here on our characterization of the TDM system with the new flex harness, which allowed the system to achieve a co-added energy resolution at a level of 2.7~eV FWHM at 6~keV via 32-row readout. In addition, we provide an outlook on the upcoming integration of TDM readout into the X-IFU Focal-Plane Assembly Development Model., Comment: Submitted for publication to Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instrumentation and Systems. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2403.02978

The SALTUS Probe mission will provide a powerful far-infrared (far-IR) pointed space observatory to explore our cosmic origins and the possibility of life elsewhere. The observatory employs an innovative deployable 14-m aperture, with a sunshield that will radiatively cool the off-axis primary to <45K. This cooled primary reflector works in tandem with cryogenic coherent and incoherent instruments that span the 34 to 660 micron far-IR range at both high and moderate spectral resolutions., Comment: 49 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, submitted to SPIE JATIS

We have demonstrated three 4x2 hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer arrays for operation at local oscillator (LO) frequencies of 1.46, 1.9 and 4.7 THz, respectively. They consist of spiral antenna coupled NbN HEB mixers combined with elliptical lenses. These are to date the highest pixel count arrays using a quasi-optical coupling scheme at supra-THz frequencies. At 1.4 THz, we measured an average double sideband mixer noise temperature of 330 K, a mixer conversion loss of 5.7 dB, and an optimum LO power of 210 nW. The array at 1.9 THz has an average mixer noise temperature of 420K, a conversion loss of 6.9 dB, and an optimum LO power of 190 nW. For the array at 4.7 THz, we obtained an average mixer noise temperature of 700 K, a conversion loss of 9.7 dB, and an optimum LO power of 240 nW. We found the arrays to be uniform regarding the mixer noise temperature with a standard deviation of 3-4%, the conversion loss with a standard deviation of 7-10%, and optimum LO power with a standard deviation of 5-6%. The noise bandwidth was also measured, being 3.5 GHz for the three arrays. These performances are comparable to previously reported values in the literature for single pixels and also other detector arrays. Our arrays meet the requirements of the Galactic/Extra-Galactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO), a NASA balloon borne observatory, and are therefore scheduled to fly as part of the payload, which is expected to be launched in December 2023.

The electromagnetic spectrum in the terahertz frequency region is of significant importance for understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies and stars throughout the history of the universe and the process of planet formation. Within the star forming clouds the constituent atoms and molecules are excited to produce characteristic emission and absorption lines, many of which happen at the terahertz frequencies. Thus, detecting the spectral signatures as unique fingerprints of molecules and atoms require terahertz spectrometers, which need to be operated in a space observatory because of the water vapor absorption in the earth atmosphere. However, current terahertz spectrometers face several challenges that limit their performances and applications, including a low resolution, limited bandwidth, large volume, and complexity. In this paper, we address the last two issues by demonstrating a concept of a compact terahertz spectrometer using metasurface. We start by modelling, designing, and fabricating a metasurface, aiming to optimize its performance within a band from 1.7 to 2.5 THz. Next, we make use of an array of quantum cascade lasers that operate at slightly different frequencies around 2.1 THz to validate the performance of the spectrometer. Finally, we apply the spectrum inversion method to analyse the measured data to confirm a resolution R of at least 273. Our results demonstrated a miniaturized terahertz spectrometer concept successfully.

As a two-dimensional planar material with low depth profile, a metasurface can generate non-classical phase distributions for the transmitted and reflected electromagnetic waves at its interface. Thus, it offers more flexibility to control the wave front. A traditional metasurface design process mainly adopts the forward prediction algorithm, such as Finite Difference Time Domain, combined with manual parameter optimization. However, such methods are time-consuming, and it is difficult to keep the practical meta-atom spectrum being consistent with the ideal one. In addition, since the periodic boundary condition is used in the meta-atom design process, while the aperiodic condition is used in the array simulation, the coupling between neighboring meta-atoms leads to inevitable inaccuracy. In this review, representative intelligent methods for metasurface design are introduced and discussed, including machine learning, physics-information neural network, and topology optimization method. We elaborate on the principle of each approach, analyze their advantages and limitations, and discuss their potential applications. We also summarise recent advances in enabled metasurfaces for quantum optics applications. In short, this paper highlights a promising direction for intelligent metasurface designs and applications for future quantum optics research and serves as an up-to-date reference for researchers in the metasurface and metamaterial fields.

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer, studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory, a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), it aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over an hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR, browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters. Finally we briefly discuss on the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, and touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation, and finally on the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. (abridged)., Comment: 48 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy with minor editing

We report our most recent progress and demonstration of a frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) readout technology for transition-edge sensor (TES) arrays, both of which we have been developing, in the framework of the X-IFU instrument on board the future Athena X-ray telescope. Using Ti/Au TES micro-calorimeters, high-Q LC filters and analog/digital electronics developed at SRON and low-noise two-stage SQUID amplifiers from VTT Finland, we demonstrated feasibility of our FDM readout technology, with the simultaneous readout of 37 pixels with an energy resolution at of 2.23 eV at an energy of 6 keV. We finally outline our plans for further scaling up and improving our technology., Comment: Version submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods A for the proceedings of the Pisa Meeting 2021 conference

In the early 2030s, ESAs new X-ray observatory, Athena, is scheduled to be launched. It will carry two main instruments, one of which is the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU), an X-ray imaging spectrometer, which will consist of an array of several thousand transition-edge sensors (TESs) with a proposed energy resolution of 2.5 eV for photon energies up to 7 keV. At SRON we develop the backup TES array based on Ti/Au bilayers with a transition temperature just below 100 mK. In this contribution we will give a broad overview of the properties and capabilities of these state-of-the-art detectors. Over the years we have fabricated and studied a large number of detectors with various geometries, providing us with a good understanding of how to precisely control the properties of our detectors. We are able to accurately vary the most important detector properties, such as the normal resistance, thermal conductance and critical temperature. This allows us to finely tune our detectors to meet the demands of various applications. The detectors have demonstrated excellent energy resolutions of below 1.8 eV for 5.9 keV X-rays. By tuning the properties of the devices, they can be optimally matched to various read-out schemes using both AC and DC biasing. The next step is to increase the size of our TES arrays from our current kilo-pixel arrays towards the full-sized array for X-IFU., Comment: Submitted as a conference proceeding for SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022

We present a characterization of the sensitivity of TES X-ray micro-calorimeters to environmental conditions under frequency-domain multiplexing (FDM) readout. In the FDM scheme, each TES in a readout chain is in series with a LC band-pass filter and AC biased with an independent carrier at MHz range. Using TES arrays, cold readout circuitry and warm electronics fabricated at SRON and SQUIDs produced at VTT Finland, we characterize the sensitivity of the detectors to bias voltage, bath temperature and magnetic field. We compare our results with the requirements for the Athena X-IFU instrument, showing the compliance of the measured sensitivities. We find in particular that FDM is intrinsically insensitive to the magnetic field because of TES design and AC readout., Comment: This paper has been accepted for publication in Journal of Low Temperature Physics

Transition edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters and bolometers are used for a variety of applications. The sensors are based on the steep temperature-dependent resistance of the normal-to-superconducting transition, and are thus intrinsically sensitive to magnetic fields. Conventionally the detectors are shielded from stray magnetic fields using external magnetic shields. However, in particular for applications with strict limits on the available space and mass of an instrument, external magnetic shields might not be enough to obtain the required shielding factors or field homogeneity. Additionally, these shields are only effective for magnetic fields generated external to the TES array, and are ineffective to mitigate the impact of internally generated magnetic fields. Here we present an alternative shielding method based on a superconducting groundplane deposited directly on the backside of the silicon nitride membrane on which the TESs are located. We demonstrate that this local shielding for external magnetic fields has a shielding factor of at the least ~ 75, and is also effective at reducing internal self-induced magnetic fields, as demonstrated by measurements and simulation of the eddy current losses in our AC biased detectors. Measurements of 5.9 keV X-ray photons show that our shielded detectors have a high resilience to external magnetic fields, showing no degradation of the energy resolution or shifts of the energy scale calibration for fields of several microTesla, values higher than expected in typical real-world applications., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

We have measured and characterized the thermal crosstalk in two different arrays of transition-edge sensor (TES) X-ray micro-calorimeters with frequency-domain multiplexing (FDM) readout. The TES arrays are fabricated at SRON and are a 8$\times$8 and a 32$\times$32 "kilo-pixel" uniform array. The amount of crosstalk is evaluated as the ratio between the averaged crosstalk signal and the X-ray pulse amplitudes. The crosstalk ratios (CR) for our detectors are compliant with the requirements for future X-ray space missions, such as Athena X-IFU (CR$< 10^{-3}$ for first-neighbour pixels): we measured a nearest-neighbour thermal crosstalk ratio at a level of $10^{-4}$, with a highest crosstalk ratio of $4\times 10^{-4}$ for the kilo-pixel array (worst case, center of array) and $1\times 10^{-4}$ for the 8$\times$8 array, with a margin of improvement achievable by optimizing the Cu metallization and the width of the Si supporting structures (muntins) in the backside of the TES array chip. Based on the measured crosstalk ratios, we have estimated the impact on the spectral resolution by means of noise equivalent power (NEP) considerations and a Monte Carlo simulation, finding an average degradation in quadrature of less than 40~meV, compliant with the < 0.2~eV requirement for Athena X-IFU.

We are developing a kilo-pixels Ti/Au TES array as a backup option for Athena X-IFU. Here we report on single-pixel performance of a 32$\times$32 array operated in a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) readout system, with bias frequencies in the range 1-5 MHz. We have tested the pixels response at several photon energies, by means of a $^{55}$Fe radioactive source (emitting Mn-K$\alpha$ at 5.9 keV) and a Modulated X-ray Source (MXS, providing Cr-K$\alpha$ at 5.4 keV and Cu-K$\alpha$ at 8.0 keV). First, we report the procedure used to perform the detector energy scale calibration, usually achieving a calibration accuracy better than $\sim$ 0.5 eV in the 5.4 - 8.9 keV energy range. Then, we present the measured energy resolution at the different energies (best single pixel performance: $\Delta$E$_{FWHM}$ = 2.40 $\pm$ 0.09 eV @ 5.4 keV; 2.53 $\pm$ 0.10 eV @ 5.9 keV; 2.78 $\pm$ 0.16 eV @ 8.0 keV), investigating also the performance dependency from the pixel bias frequency and the count rate. Thanks to long background measurements ($\sim$ 1 day), we finally detected also the Al-K$\alpha$ line at 1.5 keV, generated by fluorescence inside the experimental setup. We analyzed this line to obtain a first assessment of the single-pixel performance also at low energy ($\Delta$E$_{FWHM}$ = 1.91 eV $\pm$ 0.21 eV @ 1.5 keV), and to evaluate the linearity of the detector response in a large energy band (1.5 - 8.9 keV)., Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity for ASC2020 special issue

We present observations of the Trumpler 14/Carina I region carried out using the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory 2 (STO2). The Trumpler 14/Carina I region is in the west part of the Carina Nebula Complex, which is one of the most extreme star-forming regions in the Milky Way. We observed Trumpler 14/Carina I in the 158 $\mu$m transition of [C\,{\sc ii}] with a spatial resolution of 48$''$ and a velocity resolution of 0.17 km s$^{-1}$. The observations cover a 0.25$^\circ$ by 0.28$^\circ$ area with central position {\it l} = 297.34$^\circ$, {\it b} = -0.60$^\circ$. The kinematics show that bright [C\,{\sc ii}] structures are spatially and spectrally correlated with the surfaces of CO clouds, tracing the photodissociation region and ionization front of each molecular cloud. Along 7 lines of sight that traverse Tr 14 into the dark ridge to the southwest, we find that the [C\,{\sc ii}] luminosity from the HII region is 3.7 times that from the PDR. In same los we find in the PDRs an average ratio of 1:4.1:5.6 for the mass in atomic gas:dark-CO gas: molecular gas traced by CO. Comparing multiple gas tracers including HI 21cm, [C\,{\sc ii}], CO, and radio recombination lines, we find that the HII regions of the Carina Nebula Complex are well-described as HII regions with one-side freely expanding towards us, consistent with the champagne model of ionized gas evolution. The dispersal of the GMC in this region is dominated by EUV photoevaporation; the dispersal timescale is 20-30 Myr., Comment: ApJ accepted

We give an overview of the baseline detector system for SAFARI, the prime focal-plane instrument on board the proposed space infrared observatory, SPICA. SAFARI's detectors are based on superconducting Transition Edge Sensors (TES) to provide the extreme sensitivity (dark NEP$\le2\times10^{-19}\rm\ W/\sqrt Hz$) needed to take advantage of SPICA's cold (<8 K) telescope. In order to read out the total of ~3500 detectors we use frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) with baseband feedback. In each multiplexing channel, a two-stage SQUID preamplifier reads out 160 detectors. We describe the detector system and discuss some of the considerations that informed its design., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Proc. SPIE 10708, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IX, 107080K (9 July 2018); (fixed typo in abstract)

The SAFARI Detector Test Facility is an ultra-low background optical testbed for characterizing ultra-sensitive prototype horn-coupled TES bolmeters for SAFARI, the grating spectrometer on board the proposed SPICA satellite. The testbed contains internal cold and hot black-body illuminators and a light-pipe for illumination with an external source. We have added reimaging optics to facilitate array optical measurements. The system is now being used for optical testing of prototype detector arrays read out with frequency-domain multiplexing. We present our latest optical measurements of prototype arrays and discuss these in terms of the instrument performance., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures. Copyright 2016 Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited

Frequency combs based on terahertz quantum cascade lasers feature broadband coverage and high output powers in a compact package, making them an attractive option for broadband spectroscopy. Here, we demonstrate the first multi-heterodyne spectroscopy using two terahertz quantum cascade laser combs. With just 100 $\mu$s of integration time, we achieve peak signal-to-noise ratios exceeding 60 dB and a spectral coverage greater than 250 GHz centered at 2.8 THz. Even with room-temperature detectors we are able to achieve peak signal-to-noise ratios of 50 dB, and as a proof-of-principle we use these combs to measure the broadband transmission spectrum of etalon samples. Finally, we show that with proper signal processing, it is possible to extend the multi-heterodyne spectroscopy to quantum cascade laser combs operating in pulsed mode, greatly expanding the range of quantum cascade lasers that could be suitable for these techniques.

The next generation of far infrared space observatories will require extremely sensitive detectors that can be realized only by combining extremely low intrinsic noise with high optical efficiency. We have measured the broad-band optical response of ultra-sensitive TES bolometers (NEP$\approx2\rm\ aW/\sqrt Hz$) in the 30--60-$\mu\rm m$ band where radiation is coupled to the detectors with a few-moded conical feedhorn and a hemispherical backshort. We show that these detectors have an optical efficiency of 60% (the ratio of the power detected by the TES bolometer to the total power propagating through the feedhorn). We find that the measured optical efficiency can be understood in terms of the modes propagating through the feedhorn with the aid of a spatial mode-filtering technique., Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures. The following article has been accepted by Review of Scientific Instruments. After it is published, it will be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/rsi

We report on a heterodyne receiver designed to observe the astrophysically important neutral atomic oxygen [OI] line at 4.7448 THz. The local oscillator is a third-order distributed feedback Quantum Cascade Laser operating in continuous wave mode at 4.741 THz. A quasi-optical, superconducting NbN hot electron bolometer is used as the mixer. We recorded a double sideband receiver noise temperature (T^DSB_rec) of 815 K, which is ~7 times the quantum noise limit (h{\nu}/2k_B) and an Allan variance time of 15 s at an effective noise fluctuation bandwidth of 18 MHz. Heterodyne performance was confirmed by measuring a methanol line spectrum., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in the Applied Physics Letters