106 research outputs found
Uniform non-stoichiometric titanium nitride thin films for improved kinetic inductance detector array
We describe the fabrication of homogeneous sub-stoichiometric titanium
nitride films for microwave kinetic inductance detector (mKID) arrays. Using a
6 inch sputtering target and a homogeneous nitrogen inlet, the variation of the
critical temperature over a 2 inch wafer was reduced to <25 %. Measurements of
a 132-pixel mKID array from these films reveal a sensitivity of 16 kHz/pW in
the 100 GHz band, comparable to the best aluminium mKIDs. We measured a noise
equivalent power of NEP = 3.6e-15 W/Hz^(1/2). Finally, we describe possible
routes to further improve the performance of these TiN mKID arrays.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Journal of low temperature physics,
Proceedings of LTD-1
Lumped element kinetic inductance detectors maturity for space-borne instruments in the range between 80 and 180 GHz
This work intends to give the state-of-the-art of our knowledge of the
performance of LEKIDs at millimetre wavelengths (from 80 to 180~GHz). We
evaluate their optical sensitivity under typical background conditions and
their interaction with ionising particles. Two LEKID arrays, originally
designed for ground-based applications and composed of a few hundred pixels
each, operate at a central frequency of 100, and 150~GHz (
about 0.3). Their sensitivities have been characterised in the laboratory using
a dedicated closed-circle 100~mK dilution cryostat and a sky simulator,
allowing for the reproduction of realistic, space-like observation conditions.
The impact of cosmic rays has been evaluated by exposing the LEKID arrays to
alpha particles (Am) and X sources (Cd) with a readout sampling
frequency similar to the ones used for Planck HFI (about 200~Hz), and also with
a high resolution sampling level (up to 2~MHz) in order to better characterise
and interpret the observed glitches. In parallel, we have developed an
analytical model to rescale the results to what would be observed by such a
LEKID array at the second Lagrangian point.Comment: 7 pages, 2 tables, 13 figure
High-resolution tSZ cartography of clusters of galaxies with NIKA at the IRAM 30-m telescope
The thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (tSZ) is a powerful probe to study
clusters of galaxies and is complementary with respect to X-ray, lensing or
optical observations. Previous arcmin resolution tSZ observations ({\it e.g.}
SPT, ACT and Planck) only enabled detailed studies of the intra-cluster medium
morphology for low redshift clusters (). Thus, the development of
precision cosmology with clusters requires high angular resolution observations
to extend the understanding of galaxy cluster towards high redshift. NIKA2 is a
wide-field (6.5 arcmin field of view) dual-band camera, operated at and containing KID (Kinetic Inductance Detectors), designed to
observe the millimeter sky at 150 and 260 GHz, with an angular resolution of 18
and 12 arcsec respectively. The NIKA2 camera has been installed on the IRAM
30-m telescope (Pico Veleta, Spain) in September 2015. The NIKA2 tSZ
observation program will allow us to observe a large sample of clusters (50) at
redshift ranging between 0.5 and 1. As a pathfinder for NIKA2, several clusters
of galaxies have been observed at the IRAM 30-m telescope with the NIKA
prototype to cover the various configurations and observation conditions
expected for NIKA2.Comment: Proceedings of the 28th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics,
Geneva, Switzerland, December 13-18, 201
High angular resolution Sunyaev-Zel'dovich observations of MACS J1423.8+2404 with NIKA: Multiwavelength analysis
The prototype of the NIKA2 camera, NIKA, is an instrument operating at the
IRAM 30-m telescope, which can observe simultaneously at 150 and 260GHz. One of
the main goals of NIKA2 is to measure the pressure distribution in galaxy
clusters at high resolution using the thermal SZ (tSZ) effect. Such
observations have already proved to be an excellent probe of cluster pressure
distributions even at high redshifts. However, an important fraction of
clusters host submm and/or radio point sources, which can significantly affect
the reconstructed signal. Here we report on <20" resolution observations at 150
and 260GHz of the cluster MACSJ1424, which hosts both radio and submm point
sources. We examine the morphology of the tSZ signal and compare it to other
datasets. The NIKA data are combined with Herschel satellite data to study the
SED of the submm point source contaminants. We then perform a joint
reconstruction of the intracluster medium (ICM) electronic pressure and density
by combining NIKA, Planck, XMM-Newton, and Chandra data, focusing on the impact
of the radio and submm sources on the reconstructed pressure profile. We find
that large-scale pressure distribution is unaffected by the point sources
because of the resolved nature of the NIKA observations. The reconstructed
pressure in the inner region is slightly higher when the contribution of point
sources are removed. We show that it is not possible to set strong constraints
on the central pressure distribution without accurately removing these
contaminants. The comparison with X-ray only data shows good agreement for the
pressure, temperature, and entropy profiles, which all indicate that MACSJ1424
is a dynamically relaxed cool core system. The present observations illustrate
the possibility of measuring these quantities with a relatively small
integration time, even at high redshift and without X-ray spectroscopy.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, submitted to A&
The NIKA2 instrument, a dual-band kilopixel KID array for millimetric astronomy
NIKA2 (New IRAM KID Array 2) is a camera dedicated to millimeter wave
astronomy based upon kilopixel arrays of Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KID).
The pathfinder instrument, NIKA, has already shown state-of-the-art detector
performance. NIKA2 builds upon this experience but goes one step further,
increasing the total pixel count by a factor 10 while maintaining the
same per pixel performance. For the next decade, this camera will be the
resident photometric instrument of the Institut de Radio Astronomie
Millimetrique (IRAM) 30m telescope in Sierra Nevada (Spain). In this paper we
give an overview of the main components of NIKA2, and describe the achieved
detector performance. The camera has been permanently installed at the IRAM 30m
telescope in October 2015. It will be made accessible to the scientific
community at the end of 2016, after a one-year commissioning period. When this
happens, NIKA2 will become a fundamental tool for astronomers worldwide.Comment: Proceedings of the 16th Low Temperature Detectors workshop. To be
published in the Journal of Low Temperature Physics. 8 pages, 4 figures, 1
tabl
The NIKA instrument: results and perspectives towards a permanent KID based camera for the Pico Veleta observatory
The New IRAM KIDs Array (NIKA) is a pathfinder instrument devoted to
millimetric astronomy. In 2009 it was the first multiplexed KID camera on the
sky; currently it is installed at the focal plane of the IRAM 30-meters
telescope at Pico Veleta (Spain). We present preliminary data from the last
observational run and the ongoing developments devoted to the next NIKA-2
kilopixels camera, to be commissioned in 2015. We also report on the latest
laboratory measurements, and recent improvements in detector cosmetics and
read-out electronics. Furthermore, we describe a new acquisition strategy
allowing us to improve the photometric accuracy, and the related automatic
tuning procedure.Comment: 24th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology, ISSTT
2013, April 8 to 10, 2013, Groningen, the Netherland
NIKA 2: next-generation continuum/polarized camera at the IRAM 30 m telescope and its prototype
NIKA 2 (New Instrument of Kids Array) is a next generation continuum and
polarized instrument successfully installed in October 2015 at the IRAM 30 m
telescope on Pico-Veleta (Granada, Spain). NIKA 2 is a high resolution
dual-band camera, operating with frequency multiplexed LEKIDs (Lumped Element
Kinetic Inductance Detectors) cooled at 100 mK. Dual color images are obtained
thanks to the simultaneous readout of a 1020 pixels array at 2 mm and 1140 x 2
pixels arrays at 1.15 mm with a final resolution of 18 and 12 arcsec
respectively, and 6.5 arcmin of Field of View (FoV). The two arrays at 1.15 mm
allow us to measure the linear polarization of the incoming light. This will
place NIKA 2 as an instrument of choice to study the role of magnetic fields in
the star formation process. The NIKA experiment, a prototype for NIKA 2 with a
reduced number of detectors (about 400 LEKIDs) and FoV (1.8 arcmin), has been
successfully operated at the IRAM 30 telescope in several open observational
campaigns. The performance of the NIKA 2 polarization setup has been
successfully validated with the NIKA prototype.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, proceeding for the conference: Extragalactic
radio surveys 201
Non-parametric deprojection of NIKA SZ observations: Pressure distribution in the Planck-discovered cluster PSZ1 G045.85+57.71
The determination of the thermodynamic properties of clusters of galaxies at
intermediate and high redshift can bring new insights into the formation of
large-scale structures. It is essential for a robust calibration of the
mass-observable scaling relations and their scatter, which are key ingredients
for precise cosmology using cluster statistics. Here we illustrate an
application of high resolution arcsec) thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ)
observations by probing the intracluster medium (ICM) of the \planck-discovered
galaxy cluster \psz\ at redshift , using tSZ data obtained with the
NIKA camera, which is a dual-band (150 and 260~GHz) instrument operated at the
IRAM 30-meter telescope. We deproject jointly NIKA and \planck\ data to extract
the electronic pressure distribution from the cluster core () to its outskirts () non-parametrically for the
first time at intermediate redshift. The constraints on the resulting pressure
profile allow us to reduce the relative uncertainty on the integrated Compton
parameter by a factor of two compared to the \planck\ value. Combining the tSZ
data and the deprojected electronic density profile from \xmm\ allows us to
undertake a hydrostatic mass analysis, for which we study the impact of a
spherical model assumption on the total mass estimate. We also investigate the
radial temperature and entropy distributions. These data indicate that \psz\ is
a massive ( M) cool-core cluster.
This work is part of a pilot study aiming at optimizing the treatment of the
NIKA2 tSZ large program dedicated to the follow-up of SZ-discovered clusters at
intermediate and high redshifts. (abridged)Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
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