The surface impedance of a superconductor changes when energy is absorbed andCooper pairs are broken to produce single electron (quasiparticle) excitations.This change may be sensitively measured using a thin-film resonant circuitcalled a microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID). The practicalapplication of MKIDs for photon detection requires a method of efficientlycoupling the photon energy to the MKID. We present results on positionsensitive X-ray detectors made by using two aluminum MKIDs on either side of atantalum photon absorber strip. Diffusion constants, recombination times, andenergy resolution are reported. MKIDs can easily be scaled into large arrays.
展开▼
