Optical Measurements of SuperSpec: A Millimeter-Wave On-Chip Spectrometer

SuperSpec is a novel on-chip spectrometerwe are developing for (sub)millimeter wavelength astronomy.Our approach utilizes a filterbank ofmoderate resolution (R ∼ 500) channels, coupled to lumped element kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs), all integrated onto a single silicon chip. The channels are half-wave resonators formed by lithographically depositing segments of superconducting transmission line, and the KIDs are titanium nitride resonators. Here we present optical measurements of a first generation prototype, operating in the 180–280 GHz frequency range. We have used a coherent source to measure the spectral profiles of 17 channels, which achieve linewidths corresponding to quality factors as high as Qfilt = 700, consistent with S. Hailey-Dunsheath (B) · M. Hollister · A. Kovacs · C. McKenney · R. O’Brient · S. Padin · E. Shirokoff · L. Swenson · J. Zmuidzinas California Institute of Technology, Mail Code 301-17, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA e-mail: [email protected] P. S. Barry · S. Doyle · C. E. Tucker School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University, 5 The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK C. M. Bradford · G. Chattopadhyay · P. Day · H. G. LeDuc · R. Monroe · H. T. Nguyen · T. Reck Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA A. Kovacs Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, 116 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA N. Llombart Optics Department of the Complutense University of Madrid, C. Arcos de Jalon No. 118, 28037 Madrid, Spain P. Mauskopf Arizona State University, 650 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA