The Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellowship program aims to support early career researchers in developing advanced astrophysics technologies, particularly focusing on superconducting detector technologies like microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) and transition-edge sensors (TES). These detectors offer significant advantages over traditional CCDs, including single photon detection, microsecond timing, and broadband wavelength coverage.
The program will focus on three main research areas:
1. Developing a novel kinetic inductance current sensor (KICS) to multiplex optical to near-infrared TES arrays, enabling kilopixel-scale arrays through a single microwave transmission line.
2. Improving TES energy resolution by reducing critical temperature and dynamic range, and fabricating devices on membranes and phonon barriers.
3. Optimizing optical stacks for high photon quantum efficiency across a broader wavelength band.
The ultimate goal is to demonstrate multiplexed readout of kilopixel-scale integrated TES arrays with resolving power approaching 90 at 1550 nm and quantum efficiency > 90% between 400 nm and 2000 nm. These advanced detectors could revolutionize exoplanet studies, enabling the search for biosignatures in exoplanet atmospheres with large space telescopes.
Keywords: superconducting, detectors, quantum efficiency, multiplexing, TES
