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Electromagnetic Considerations for Planar Bolometer Arrays in the Single Mode LimitFilled arrays of planar bolometers are finding astronomical applications at wavelengths as long as several millimeters. In an effort to keep focal planes to a reasonable size while maintaining large numbers of detectors, a common strategy is to push these arrays to operate close to or at the single mode limit. Doing so introduces several new challenges that are not experienced in the multi-mode case of far-infrared detectors having similar pixel sizes. First, diffractive effects of the pixels themselves are no longer insignificant and will ultimately contribute to the resolution limit of the optical system in which they reside. We use the method of Withlngton et al. (2003) to model the polarized diffraction in this limit. Second, it is necessary to re-examine the coupling between the radiation and the absorbing element that is thermally connected to the bolometers. The small f-numbers that are often employed to make use of large focal planes makes backshort construction problematic. We introduce a new strategy to increase detector efficiency that uses an antireflective layer on the front side of the detector array. In addition, typical methods for stray light control that rely on multiple reflections in a lossy medium fail due to physical size constraints. For this application, we find that resonant absorbers are a more effective strategy that can be implemented in the space available.
Document ID
20060013021
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Wollack, Edward J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Chuss, David T.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Moseley, Samuel
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Subject Category
Optics
Meeting Information
Meeting: Millimeter and Submillimeter Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy Symposium: A506 Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation
Location: Orlando, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: May 24, 2006
End Date: May 31, 2006
Sponsors: International Society for Optical Engineering
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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