SuperSpec is an innovative, fully planar, compact spectrograph for mm/sub-mm astronomy. Its very small size, wide spectral bandwidth, and highly multiplexed detector readout will enable construction of powerful multi-object spectrometers for observations of galaxies at high redshift. SuperSpec is based on a superconducting filterbank consisting of a series of planar half-wavelength filters to divide up the incoming, broadband radiation. The power in each filter is coupled into a titanium nitride (TiN) lumped element Kinetic Inductance Detector (KID), facilitating the read out of a large number of filter elements with minimal cryogenic electronics. We present electromagnetic simulations of the various components that make up the first generation prototype device. We then present a characterisation of the performance of the TiN detectors and compare these to the standard Mattis-Bardeen prediction. We then demonstrate the operation of the filterbank at 250 GHz through a spectral characterisation made using a Martin-Puplett interferometer measuring a minimum filter bandwidth that corresponds to a spectral resolution of R = 700. From blackbody measurements of the most responsive filter channels, we estimate a system noise equivalent power of 2X10 to power -15 WHz to power -1/2.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:642495 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Barry, Peter |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/71562/ |
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