QUBIC (Q and U bolometric interferometer for cosmology) is an international ground-based experiment dedicated to the measurement of the polarized fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). It is based on bolometric interferometry, an original detection technique which combines the immunity to systematic effects of an interferometer with the sensitivity of low temperature incoherent detectors. QUBIC will be deployed in Argentina, at the Alto Chorrillos mountain site near San Antonio de los Cobres, in the Salta province. The QUBIC detection chain consists of 2048 NbSi transition edge sensors (TESs) cooled to 320 mK. The voltage-biased TESs are read out with time domain multiplexing based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) at 1 K and a novel SiGe application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) at 60 K allowing an unprecedented multiplexing (MUX) factor equal to 128 to be reached. The current QUBIC version is based on a reduced number of detectors (1/4) in order to validate the detection technique. The QUBIC experiment is currently being validated in the lab in Salta (Argentina) before going to the site for observations. This paper presents the main results of the characterization phase with a focus on the detectors and readout system.
Space-borne x-ray observations of supernova remnants, galactic clusters, x-ray binaries, and black holes are key elements in determining the structure of the universe. Astronomers require wide field of view with high spatial resolution but also very high spectral resolution to determine the physical conditions (temperatures, element abundances) with great accuracy. Today’s technologies (mostly TESs) obtain very high spectral resolutions to the detriment of power consumption, mostly due to their cold stage SQUID readout electronics. Their high power consumption limits the instrument’s field of view (FoV) by constraining the total number of pixels affordable at the 50 mK focal plane of a satellite cryostat. We use a new alloy technology: the high resistivity NbSi, enabling us to design TES sensors promising high spectral resolution and ultra low power consumption (below 10 pW). Their high impedance allows the use of a transistor readout at a hotter stage of the cryostat. This, in conjunction with the inherent ultra-low power dissipation of the sensors, raises drastically the number of pixels of the detector.
In this article, we explore pixel optimization ways based on our electro-thermal model to reach spectral resolution of the order of 1.8 eV. We then use this model to manufacture a new batch of pixels on which we conduct experimental measurements. We measure the transient response, energy linearity and noise spectrum of our pixels with an Iron 55 source as well as an innovative on-chip pulse injection system. A low noise cryogenic amplifier as well as a cryogenic experimental setup have been designed to perform these measurements.
The Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology (QUBIC) Technical Demonstrator (TD) aiming to shows the feasibility of the combination of interferometry and bolometric detection. The electronic readout system is based on an array of 128 NbSi Transition Edge Sensors cooled at 350mK readout with 128 SQUIDs at 1K controlled and amplified by an Application Specific Integrated Circuit at 40K. This readout design allows a 128:1 Time Domain Multiplexing. We report the design and the performance of the detection chain in this paper. The technological demonstrator unwent a campaign of test in the lab. Evaluation of the QUBIC bolometers and readout electronics includes the measurement of I-V curves, time constant and the Noise Equivalent Power. Currently the mean Noise Equivalent Power is ~ 2 x 10-16W= p √Hz
QUBIC (a Q and U Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology) is a next generation cosmology experiment designed to detect the B-mode polarisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). A B-mode detection is hard evidence of Inflation in the ΛCDM model. QUBIC aims to accomplish this by combining novel technologies to achieve the sensitivity required to detect the faint B-mode signal. QUBIC uses technologies such as a rotating half-wave plate, cryogenics, interferometric horns with self-calibration switches and transition edge sensor bolometers. A Technical Demonstrator (TD) is currently being calibrated in APC in Paris before observations in Argentina in 2021. As part of the calibration campaign, the spectral response of the TD is measured to test and validate QUBIC's spectro-imaging capability. This poster gives an overview of the methods used to measure the spectral response and a comparison of the instrument data with theoretical predictions and optical simulations.
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