We present a highly frequency multiplexed readout for large-format superconducting detector arrays intended for use in the next generation of balloon-borne and space-based sub-millimeter and far-infrared missions. We will demonstrate this technology on the upcoming NASA Next Generation Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST-TNG) to measure the polarized emission of Galactic dust at wavelengths of 250, 350 and 500 microns. The BLAST-TNG receiver incorporates the first arrays of Lumped Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors (LeKID) along with the first microwave multiplexing readout electronics to fly in a space-like environment and will significantly advance the TRL for these technologies. After the flight of BLAST-TNG, we will continue to improve the performance of the detectors and readout electronics for the next generation of balloon-borne instruments and for use in a future FIR Surveyor.
Polarized thermal emission from interstellar dust grains can be used to map magnetic fields in star forming molecular clouds and the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope for Polarimetry (BLASTPol) flew from Antarctica in 2010 and 2012 and produced degree-scale polarization maps of several nearby molecular clouds with arcminute resolution. The success of BLASTPol has motivated a next-generation instrument, BLAST-TNG, which will use more than 3000 linear polarizationsensitive microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) combined with a 2.5 m diameter carbon fiber primary mirror to make diffraction-limited observations at 250, 350, and 500 µm. With 16 times the mapping speed of BLASTPol, sub-arcminute resolution, and a longer flight time, BLAST-TNG will be able to examine nearby molecular clouds and the diffuse galactic dust polarization spectrum in unprecedented detail. The 250 µm detector array has been integrated into the new cryogenic receiver, and is undergoing testing to establish the optical and polarization characteristics of the instrument. BLAST-TNG will demonstrate the effectiveness of kilo-pixel MKID arrays for applications in submillimeter astronomy. BLAST-TNG is scheduled to fly from Antarctica in December 2017 for 28 days and will be the first balloon-borne telescope to offer a quarter of the flight for "shared risk" observing by the community.
OLIMPO is a balloon-borne experiment aiming at spectroscopic measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect in clusters of galaxies. The instrument operates from the stratosphere, so that it can cover a wide frequency range (from ∼ 130 to ∼ 520 GHz in 4 bands), including frequencies which are not observable with ground-based instruments. OLIMPO is composed of a 2.6-m aperture telescope, a differential Fourier transform spectrometer and four arrays of lumped element kinetic inductance detectors operating at the temperature of 0.3 K. The payload was launched from the Longyearbyen airport (Svalbard Islands) on July 14th, 2018, and operated for 5 days, at an altitude of 38 km around the North Pole. We report the in-flight performance of the first lumped element kinetic inductance detector arrays ever flown onboard a stratospheric balloon.
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