The SAFARI-lite instrument on the SALTUS mission with its large 14 meter diameter aperture, will present the astronomical community with an unprecedented observational capability providing extremely sensitive FarIR spectroscopy at high spatial resolution. With the combination of SALTUS’ large collecting area and an array of sensitive Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) in a compact grating spectrometer configuration the SAFARI-lite instrument will generate R~300 resolution 34-230 μm spectra reaching sensitivities of order 10-20 W/m2 (5σ/1 hour) – an observing capabilityy in the Far Infra-Red domain with both spatial resolution and sensitivity at levels comparable to JWST. The instrument will provide both point source optimized spectroscopy observing modes, as well as spectroscopic imaging for small fields.
With this breakthrough capability astronomers will be able to fully address many fundamental astrophysical issues like understanding the evolution of galaxies over cosmic time, following the distribution and role of water in the evolution those galaxies, and unveiling the formation history of planetary systems in general and our own solar system in particular.
We present measurements of a polarization sensitive lens-antenna coupled MKID array at 1.5THz, mounted with an additional 20dB neutral density filter in a wide field camera. This allows full end to end system characterization with room temperature optical sources, but under similar optical loading conditions as expected in a space based polarimeter configuration.
The system is characterized using a wideband polarized photomixer based phase and amplitude beam pattern setup at 1.5THz. Two separate measurements with orthogonal source polarizations enable the co and cross polarization to be extracted, showing the full system low cross-polarization needed for many future polarimetric applications. Such a measurement setup is additionally of potential interest for the characterization of future missions (for example in the Far Infra-Red): to obtain the optical beam quality and verifying the optical interfaces on a component/sub-component level. We present and discuss this setup and the characterization of the lens-antenna coupled MKID camera.
We have demonstrated three 4×2 hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixer arrays for operation at local oscillator (LO) frequencies of 1.4, 1.9 and 4.7 THz, respectively. These arrays 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 obtained an average double sideband mixer noise temperature of 330 K, a mixer conversion loss of 5.2 dB, and an optimum LO power of 210 nW. The array at 1.9 THz has an average mixer noise temperature of 425K, a mixer conversion loss of 6.4 dB, and an optimum LO power of 190 nW. For the array at 4.7 THz we obtained an average mixer noise temperature of 715 K, a mixer conversion loss of 8.9 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 8-11%, 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 at similar frequencies. Our arrays met the requirements and were employed in the Galactic/Extra-Galactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO), a NASA balloon borne observatory. GUSTO launched from Antarctica on the 31st December 2023 having a successful flight of 57 days, the longest ever recorded by NASA for such mission profile.
Heterodyne receivers combining a NbN HEB mixer with a local oscillator (LO) are the work horse for high resolution ( ≥106 ) spectroscopic observations at supra-terahertz frequencies. We report an MgB2 HEB mixer working at 5.3 THz with 20 K operation temperature based on a previously published paper [Y. Gan et al, Appl. Phys. Lett., 119, 202601 (2021)]. The HEB consists of a 7 nm thick MgB2 submicron-bridge contacted with a spiral antenna. It has a Tc of 38.4 K. By using hot/cold blackbody loads and a Mylar beam splitter all in vacuum, and applying a 5.25 THz FIR gas laser as the LO, we measured a minimal DSB receiver noise temperature of 3960 K. The latter gives a DSB mixer noise temperature of 1470 K. This sensitivity is 28 times better than a room temperature Schottky mixer at 4.7 THz, but about 2.5 times less sensitive than an NbN HEB mixer. The latter must be operated around 4 K. The IF noise bandwidth is about 10 GHz, which is 2.5-3 times larger than an NbN HEB. With further optimization, such MgB2 HEBs are expected to reach a better sensitivity. That the low noise, wide IF bandwidth MgB2 HEB mixers can be operated in a compact, low dissipation 20 K Stirling cooler can significantly reduce the cost and complexity of heterodyne instruments and therefore facilitate new space missions.
Gal/Xgal U/LDB Spectroscopic/ Stratospheric THz Observatory (GUSTO) is a NASA Explorers Mission of Opportunity that will make large scale maps of the Milky Way and Large Magellanic Cloud in three important interstellar lines: [CII], [OI], and [NII] at 158, 63, and 205 µm, respectively. During its ~75 day stratospheric (~36 km) flight, GUSTO’s 0.9-meter balloon-borne telescope and THz heterodyne array receivers will provide the spectral and spatial resolution needed to untangle the complexities of the interstellar medium by probing all phases of its Life Cycle. The GUSTO payload consists of (1) a telescope; (2) three 8-pixel heterodyne array receivers; (3) autocorrelator spectrometers; (4) instrument control electronics; and (5) a cryostat. The GUSTO gondola is derived from successful APL designs. Much of the GUSTO instrument architecture and hardware is based on the experience gained in developing and flying the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory (STO). GUSTO is currently undergoing integration and test and will launch from the NASA Long Duration Balloon (LDB) Facility near McMurdo, Antarctica in December 2023.
GUSTO (Galactic/ Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory) equipped with three 8-pixel detection channels at 1.4, 1.9, and 4.7 THz will perform the largest single-flight mapping of the important lines of nitrogen [NII], carbon [CII], oxygen [OI] respectively, within the Milky Way and Large Magellanic Cloud..
Whilst the cutting edge technologies are applied in the mixer and local oscillator (LO) components, their proper coupling is crucial. Here we present the design, manufacturing and measurement results of a phase grating for multiplexing a single beam from a quantum cascade laser to 8 beams as the LO at 4.7 THz. We experimentally confirmed that the grating meets all the requirements.
This is the first time that such a complete characterization of a THz phase grating is being reported. This accomplishment paves the way for future larger array receivers to apply this component for such a critical function.
Generating multiple local oscillator beams is one challenge to develop large heterodyne receiver arrays (~100 pixels), which allow astronomical instrumentations mapping more area within limited space mission lifetime. Here, We combine a reflective Fourier grating with an unidirectional antenna coupled 3rd-order distributed feedback (DFB) quantum cascade laser (QCL) to generate 81 beams at 3.86 THz. We have measured the beam pattern of the diffracted 81 beams, which agrees well with a simulated result from COMSOL Multiphysics with respect to the angular distribution and power distribution among the 81 beams. The diffraction efficiency of the Fourier grating is derived to be 94±3%, which is very close to the simulated result of 97%. For an array of equal superconducting hot electron bolometer mixers, 64 out of 81 beams can pump the HEB mixers with similar power, resulting in receiver sensitivities within 10%. Such a combination of a Fourier grating and a QCL can create an LO with 100 beams or more, enabling a new generation of large heterodyne arrays for astronomical instrumentation. This paper is essentially a copy of our paper in Optics Express.
GUSTO will be a NASA balloon borne terahertz observatory to be launched from Antarctica in late 2021 for a flight duration of 100-170 days. It aims at reviewing the life cycle of interstellar medium of our galaxy by simultaneously mapping the three brightest interstellar cooling lines: [OI] at 4.7 THz, [CII] at 1.9 THz, and [NII] at 1.4 THz; along the 124 degrees of the galactic plane and through a part of the Large Magellanic Cloud. It will use three arrays of 4x2 mixers based on NbN hot electron bolometers (HEBs), which are currently the most sensitive mixers for high resolution spectroscopic astronomy at these frequencies.
Here we report on the design of a novel 4.7 THz receiver for GUSTO. The receiver consists mainly of two subsystems: a 4×2 HEB quasi-optical mixer array and a 4.7 THz multi-beam LO. We describe the mixer array, which is designed as a compact monolithic unit. We show, for example, 10 potential HEB detectors with the state of the art sensitivity of 720 K measured at 2.5 THz. They have a small variation in sensitivity, being less than 3%, while also meet the LO uniformity requirements. For the multi-beam LO we demonstrate the combination of a phase grating and a single QCL at 4.7 THz, which generates 8 sub-LO beams, where the phase grating shows an efficiency of 75%. A preliminary concept for the integrated LO unit, including QCL, phase grating and beam matching optics is presented.
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