Published November 29, 2021 | Version Submitted
Discussion Paper Open

BICEP Array: 150 GHz detector module development

Abstract

The BICEP/Keck Collaboration is currently leading the quest to the highest sensitivity measurements of the polarized CMB anisotropies on degree scale with a series of cryogenic telescopes, of which BICEP Array is the latest Stage-3 upgrade with a total of ∼32,000 detectors. The instrument comprises 4 receivers spanning 30 to 270 GHz, with the low-frequency 30/40 GHz deployed to the South Pole Station in late 2019. The full complement of receivers is forecast to set the most stringent constraints on the tensor to scalar ratio r. Building on these advances, the overarching small-aperture telescope concept is already being used as the reference for further Stage-4 experiment design. In this paper I will present the development of the BICEP Array 150 GHz detector module and its fabrication requirements, with highlights on the high-density time division multiplexing (TDM) design of the cryogenic circuit boards. The low-impedance wiring required between the detectors and the first-stage SQUID amplifiers is crucial to maintain a stiff voltage bias on the detectors. A novel multi-layer FR4 Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with superconducting traces, capable of reading out up to 648 detectors, is presented along with its validation tests. I will also describe an ultra-high density TDM detector module we developed for a CMB-S4-like experiment that allows up to 1,920 detectors to be read out. TDM has been chosen as the detector readout technology for the Cosmic Microwave Background Stage-4 (CMB-S4) experiment based on its proven low-noise performance, predictable costs and overall maturity of the architecture. The heritage for TDM is rooted in mm- and submm-wave experiments dating back 20 years and has since evolved to support a multiplexing factor of 64x in Stage-3 experiments.

Additional Information

The BICEP/Keck project has been made possible through a series of grants from the National Science Foundation including 0742818, 0742592, 1044978, 1110087, 1145172, 1145143, 1145248, 1639040, 1638957, 1638978, 1638970, & 1726917 and by the Keck Foundation. The development of antenna-coupled detector technology was supported by the JPL Research and Technology Development Fund and NASA Grants 06-ARPA206-0040, 10-SAT10-0017, 12-SAT12-0031, 14-SAT14-0009 & 16-SAT16-0002. The development and testing of focal planes were supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation at Caltech. Readout electronics were supported by a Canada Foundation for Innovation grant to UBC. The computations in this paper were run on the Odyssey cluster supported by the FAS Science Division Research Computing Group at Harvard University. The analysis effort at Stanford and SLAC is partially supported by the U.S. DoE Office of Science. We thank the staff of the U.S. Antarctic Program and in particular the South Pole Station without whose help this research would not have been possible. Tireless administrative support was provided by Kathy Deniston, Sheri Stoll, Nancy Roth-Rappard, Irene Coyle, Donna Hernandez, and Dana Volponi.

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
114226
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20220411-225204179

Related works

Funding

NSF
OPP-0742818
NSF
OPP-0742592
NSF
OPP-1044978
NSF
ANT-1110087
NSF
OPP-1145172
NSF
OPP-1145143
NSF
OPP-1145248
NSF
OPP-1639040
NSF
OPP-1638957
NSF
OPP-1638978
NSF
OPP-1638970
NSF
OPP-1726917
W. M. Keck Foundation
JPL Research and Technology Development Fund
NASA
06-ARPA206-0040
NASA
10-SAT10-0017
NASA
12-SAT12-0031
NASA
14-SAT14-0009
NASA
16-SAT16-0002
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Canada Foundation for Innovation
Harvard University
Department of Energy (DOE)

Dates

Created
2022-04-12
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2023-06-02
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

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