Applying Energy Absorption Interferometry to THz Direct Detectors Using Photomixers

IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology, vol. 13, pp. 594–604

Abstract

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).

Authors 5

1. Ian Veenendaal Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   University of Groningen · University of Oxford · Space Research Organisation Netherlands · Cardiff University

   Affiliation as printed

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Groningen, The Netherlands

   Astronomical Instrumen-tation Group, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, U

   Department of Astrophysics, University of Oxford, OX1 3AZ Oxford, U.K

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands,

   the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   with Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, 9712 Groningen, The Netherlands,

2. Edgar Castillo-Domínguez Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   University of Groningen · University of Oxford · Space Research Organisation Netherlands · Cardiff University

   Affiliation as printed

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Groningen, The Netherlands

   Astronomical Instrumen-tation Group, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, U

   Department of Astrophysics, University of Oxford, OX1 3AZ Oxford, U.K

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands,

   the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   with Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, 9712 Groningen, The Netherlands,

3. S. J. C. Yates Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   University of Groningen · University of Oxford · Space Research Organisation Netherlands · Cardiff University

   Affiliation as printed

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Groningen, The Netherlands

   Astronomical Instrumen-tation Group, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, U

   Department of Astrophysics, University of Oxford, OX1 3AZ Oxford, U.K

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands,

   the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   with Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, 9712 Groningen, The Netherlands,

4. Bram Lap Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   University of Groningen · University of Oxford · Space Research Organisation Netherlands · Cardiff University

   Affiliation as printed

   Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

   Astronomical Instrumen-tation Group, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, U

   Department of Astrophysics, University of Oxford, OX1 3AZ Oxford, U.K

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands,

   the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   with Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, 9712 Groningen, The Netherlands,

5. Willem Jellema Aachen SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   University of Groningen · University of Oxford · Space Research Organisation Netherlands · Cardiff University

   Affiliation as printed

   Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

   Astronomical Instrumen-tation Group, Cardiff University, CF10 3AT Cardiff, U

   Department of Astrophysics, University of Oxford, OX1 3AZ Oxford, U.K

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands,

   the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 2333 Groningen, The Netherlands

   with Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, 9712 Groningen, The Netherlands,