Progress on the FDM Development at SRON: Toward 160 Pixels

• Published in: Journal of low temperature physics Vol. 176; no. 3-4; pp. 439 - 445
• Main Authors: den Hartog, R. H., Bruijn, M. P., Clenet, A., Gottardi, L., Hijmering, R., Jackson, B. D., van der Kuur, J., van Leeuwen, B. J., van der Linden, A. J., van Loon, D., Nieuwenhuizen, A., Ridder, M., van Winden, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.08.2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Arrays; Astronomical instruments; Bolometers; Calibration; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Electronics; Low temperature physics; Magnetic Materials; Magnetism; Multiplexing; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Pixels; Soft x rays; X-rays; Microcalorimeters; Multiplexed readout; Bolometers; Frequency domain multiplexing; Transition edge sensors
• ISSN: 0022-2291; 1573-7357
• DOI: 10.1007/s10909-014-1117-5

SRON is developing the electronic read-out for arrays of transition edge sensors using frequency domain multiplexing in combination with base-band feedback. The astronomical applications of this system are the read-out of soft X-ray micro-calorimeters in a potential instrument on the European X-ray mission-under-study Athena+ and far-IR bolometers for the Safari instrument on the Japanese mission SPICA. In this paper we demonstrate the simultaneous read-out of 38 bolometer pixels at a 1 - 2 aW/ √ Hz dark NEP level. The stability of the read-out is assessed over 400 s. time spans. Although some 1/f noise is present, there are several bolometers for which 1/f-free read-out can be demonstrated.