A general purpose terahertz camera based on kinetic inductance detectors for commercial/industrial applications

摘要

Kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) have come into prominence in the field of far-infrared, sub-millimetre and millimetre-wave astronomy by virtue of their high sensitivity and the ease of fabrication and electronic readout of large format arrays. Beyond astronomy, there are a range of disciplines that can benefit from these advances, including biomedical sensing, process control in manufacturing, security screening, etc. In collaboration with QMC Instruments Ltd., we are developing a general purpose, background limited imaging system based on focal plane arrays of lumped element KIDs (LEKIDs) operating at terahertz frequencies. We aim to have a fully functioning and versatile camera that is ready to enter the commercial marketplace within the next two years. Here we present our progress to date on the design and construction of the cryogenic cooling platform and cold imaging optics system; the development and fabrication of detector array architectures suited for a range of optical bands - including options for simultaneous multi-band observations; the development and assembly of a multiplexing readout system based on ROACH-2 electronics; the development and testing of intuitive and simple-to-operate control software; and concepts for modular optical coupling units for application specific imaging capabilities.