Performance of an X-ray Microcalorimeter with a 240 μm Absorber and a 50 μm TES Bilayer

Miniussi, Antoine R.; Adams, J. S.; Bandler, S. R.; Chervenak, James A.; Datesman, A.; Eckart, Megan E.; Ewin, Audrey J.; Finkbeiner, F. M.; Kelley, R. L.; Kilbourne, C. A.; Porter, F. S.; Sadleir, J. E.; Sakai, Kazuhiro; Smith, S. J.; Wakeham, N.; Wassell, E. J.; Yoon, Won-Sik

doi:10.1007/s10909-018-1974-4

Cited by 44 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…9 shows that the detectors without bars have larger noise levels in the frequency band where the Johnson noise is dominant. This indicates that the M-factor is considerably higher here compared to that obtained from TESs with bars as reported in Tab.1 and consistent with those reported in [3,38].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Complex impedance of TESs under AC bias using FDM readout system

et al. 2019

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The next generation of Far-infrared and X-ray space observatories will require detector arrays with thousands of transition edge sensor (TES) pixel. It is extremely important to have a tool that is able to characterize all the pixels and that can give a clear picture of the performance of the devices. In particular, we refer to those aspects that can affect the global energy resolution of the array: logarithmic resistance sensitivity with respect to temperature and current ( and  parameters, respectively), uniformity of the TESs and the correct understanding of the detector thermal model. Complex impedance measurement of a TES is the only technique that can give all this information at once, but it has been established only for a single pixel under DC bias. We have developed a complex impedance measurement method for TESs that are AC biased since we are using a MHz frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) system to readout an array. The FDM readout demands for some modifications to the complex-impedance technique and extra considerations, e.g. how to modulate a small fraction of the bias carrier frequencies in order to get a proper excitation current through the TESs and how to perform an accurate demodulation and recombination of the output signals. Also, it requires careful calibration to remove the presence of parasitic impedances in the entire readout system. We perform a complete set of AC impedance measurements for different X-ray TES microcalorimeters based on superconducting TiAu bilayers with or without normal metal Au bar structures. We discuss the statistical analysis of the residual between impedance data and fitting model to determine the proper calorimeter thermal model for our detectors. Extracted parameters are used to improve our understanding of the differences and capabilities among the detectors and additionally the quality of the array. Moreover, we use the results to compare the calculated noise spectra with the measured data. I. INTRODUCTION Transition edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters [1] are very versatile superconducting devices, which can be used to detect radiation in a wide energy range e.g. from -ray down to submillimeter [2-8]. A TES consists of a superconducting thin film, typically with a transition temperature Tc100 mK, which is strongly coupled to its absorber but weakly thermal coupled to a lower temperature heat bath via a thermal conductance G. In principle, TESs operate as thermometers: the absorption of incident photons by means of the absorber heats the device, which is biased in the transition between the superconducting and the normal states, causing a change in the resistance that is proportional to the photon energy absorbed. This variation is read out using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID).

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Complex impedance of TESs under AC bias using FDM readout system

et al. 2019

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“…In these cases, the high M 2 observed in some bias points is balanced by a high α, with the ratio between these two scaling favorably for the higher bias frequencies. This balancing has been observed before in MoAu TESs under DC bias 52 . In Fig.…”

Section: Excess Noisesupporting

confidence: 86%

“…The best energy resolution was achieved for TES8 with the 120×20 µm 2 geometry, where we found a full width at half maximum of 1.63 ± 0.17 eV. This is the best resolution ever achieved with a Ti/Au TES, and within 0.1 eV from the best energy resolution reported for a single pixel under DC bias 8,10,52 .…”

Section: X-ray Energy Resolution At 59 Kevsupporting

confidence: 60%

High aspect ratio transition edge sensors for x-ray spectrometry

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Gottardi

Taralli

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Physics

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We are developing large TES arrays in combination with FDM readout for the next generation of X-ray space observatories. For operation under AC-bias, the TESs have to be carefully designed and optimized. In particular, the use of high aspect ratio devices will help to mitigate non-ideal behaviour due to the weak-link effect. In this paper, we present a full characterization of a TES array containing five different device geometries, with aspect ratios (width:length) ranging from 1:2 up to 1:6. The complex impedance of all geometries is measured in different bias configurations to study the evolution of the small-signal limit superconducting transition parameters α and β , as well as the excess noise. We show that high aspect ratio devices with properly tuned critical temperatures (around 90 mK) can achieve excellent energy resolution, with an array average of 2.03 ± 0.17 eV at 5.9 keV and a best achieved resolution of 1.63 ± 0.17 eV. This demonstrates that AC-biased TESs can achieve a very competitive performance compared to DC-biased TESs. The results have motivated a push to even more extreme device geometries currently in development.

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“…We report here the results obtained with detectors developed both at NASA-Goddard and SRON, all based on bare TES's without the noise-mitigating normal metal structure. We will consider: microcalorimeters made of MoAu bi-layer TES's, with sizes of 50 × 50 µm and 100 × 100 µm, from a mixed 8 × 8 array fabricated at NASA-Goddard [10,13]; a 140 × 160 µm microcalorimeter with a TiAu TES, from a 5 × 5 [14]. The main properties of these detectors are given in Table 1.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Josephson Effects in Frequency-Domain Multiplexed TES Microcalorimeters and Bolometers

et al. 2018

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Josephson Effects in Frequency-Domain Multiplexed TES Microcalorimeters and Bolometers Gottardi, L.; Smith, S. J.; Kozorezov, A.; Akamatsu, H.; Bruijn, M. P.; Chervenak, J. A.; Gao, J. R.; Jackson, B. D.; Ridder, M.; More AuthorsAbstract Frequency-division multiplexing is the baseline read-out system for large arrays of superconducting transition-edge sensors (TES's) under development for the X-ray and infrared instruments like X-IFU (Athena) and SAFARI, respectively. In this multiplexing scheme, the sensors are ac-biased at different frequencies from 1 to 5 MHz and operate as amplitude modulators. Weak superconductivity is responsible for the complex TES resistive transition, experimentally explored in great detail so far, both with dc-and ac-biased read-out schemes. In this paper, we will review the current status of our understanding of the physics of the TES's and their interaction with the ac bias circuit. In particular, we will compare the behaviour of the TES nonlinear impedance, across the superconducting transition, for several detector families, namely: high-normal-resistance TiAu TES bolometers, low-normal-resistance MoAu TES microcalorimeters and high-normal-resistance TiAu TES microcalorimeters.

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Performance of an X-ray Microcalorimeter with a 240 μm Absorber and a 50 μm TES Bilayer

Cited by 44 publications

References 12 publications

Complex impedance of TESs under AC bias using FDM readout system

Complex impedance of TESs under AC bias using FDM readout system

High aspect ratio transition edge sensors for x-ray spectrometry

Josephson Effects in Frequency-Domain Multiplexed TES Microcalorimeters and Bolometers

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