Passive Detector Systems for Far Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy and Terahertz Imaging

用于远红外傅立叶变换光谱和太赫兹成像的无源探测器系统

• 批准号: ST/G00028X/1
• 负责人: Philip Mauskopf
• 金额: $ 33.96万
• 依托单位: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2009 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FG00028X%2F1
• 关键词: Passive; Detector; Systems; Far; Infrared

Modern astronomers make their discoveries primarily using sensitive cameras attached to telescopes. These cameras are similar to commercial digital cameras but are designed to be as efficient as possible at detecting the very low light levels coming from the night sky. Also, many discoveries in astronomy are made using cameras and telescopes that detect light that is invisible to the human eye such as infrared and X-ray radiation. Technological innovation in physics and engineering leads to the development of new cameras that either have the ability to see fainter sources or to see different wavelengths of light previously undetected. One example of this is the development of sensitive detectors called bolometers that have been used detect light with wavelengths on the order of 1 mm - i.e. longer wavelength than optical and infrared radiation but not quite radio waves. To detect mm-wave and far-infrared radiation, bolometers are cooled to very low temperatures. Advances in the design of bolometers and in very cold refrigerators led to new cameras for astronomy such as the SCUBA camera on the JCMT telescope in Hawaii that discovered new types of galaxies that only give off light at these long wavelengths. These detectors also were used on telescopes attached to giant balloons such as the BOOMERANG experiment to measure the ripples in the cosmic microwave background for the first time. Because of this, the next two space telescopes to be launched by the European Space Agency in 2008, the PLANCK and HERSCHEL telescopes will use these ultra-cold bolometers. Technological advances that benefit astronomy also can have applications in other areas. Obviously, X-ray cameras are useful for both space-astronomy and medical physics. Bolometer cameras designed to detect light with wavelength of 0.01 mm are commercially available and used to for 'thermal imaging' or infrared night vision. In this research, we will be looking to develop new detectors that bridge the gap between the infrared bolometer cameras and the astronomical bolometer cameras. This gap corresponds to light with frequencies from 0.1-10 THz and is known as the 'THz gap'. There are many research groups in the world now working to develop technologies for these wavelengths as it is one of the few regions of the electromagnetic spectrum yet to be fully exploited either by astronomers or by industry.

现代天文学家主要使用望远镜上的灵敏照相机进行发现。这些相机类似于商业数码相机，但设计成尽可能有效地检测来自夜空的非常低的光线水平。此外，天文学中的许多发现都是使用相机和望远镜来探测人眼不可见的光，如红外线和X射线辐射。物理学和工程学的技术创新导致了新相机的发展，这些相机要么能够看到更微弱的光源，要么能够看到以前未被发现的不同波长的光。这方面的一个例子是称为测辐射热计的灵敏探测器的发展，其已经用于探测具有1 mm量级的波长的光-即比光学和红外辐射更长的波长，但不完全是无线电波。为了探测毫米波和远红外辐射，测辐射热计被冷却到非常低的温度。测辐射热计和极冷冰箱设计的进步导致了新的天文学相机的出现，例如夏威夷JCMT望远镜上的SCUBA相机，它发现了只发出这些长波长光的新型星系。这些探测器也被用于连接到巨大气球的望远镜上，例如BOOMERANG实验，以首次测量宇宙微波背景中的涟漪。正因为如此，欧洲航天局将于2008年发射的下两个太空望远镜，普朗克和赫歇尔望远镜将使用这些超冷测辐射热计。有利于天文学的技术进步也可以应用于其他领域。显然，X射线照相机对空间天文学和医学物理学都很有用。设计用于检测波长为0.01 mm的光的测辐射热计相机是商业上可获得的，并用于“热成像”或红外夜视。在这项研究中，我们将寻求开发新的探测器，弥合红外测辐射热计相机和天文测辐射热计相机之间的差距。这个间隙对应于频率为0.1-10 THz的光，被称为“THz间隙”。世界上有许多研究小组正在努力开发这些波长的技术，因为它是电磁频谱中少数尚未被天文学家或工业充分利用的区域之一。