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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.00819 |
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| _version_ | 1866914822442975232 |
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| author | Cothard, Nicholas F. Stevenson, Thomas Mateo, Jennette Costen, Nicholas Denis, Kevin Perido, Joanna Schrock, Ian Wang, Frederick Glenn, Jason |
| author_facet | Cothard, Nicholas F. Stevenson, Thomas Mateo, Jennette Costen, Nicholas Denis, Kevin Perido, Joanna Schrock, Ian Wang, Frederick Glenn, Jason |
| contents | Future far-infrared astrophysics observatories will require focal plane arrays containing thousands of ultra-sensitive, superconducting detectors, each of which needs to be optically coupled to the telescope. At longer wavelengths, many approaches have been developed including feedhorn arrays and macroscopic arrays of lenslets. However, with wavelengths as short as 25 microns, optical coupling in the far-infrared remains challenging. In this paper, we present a novel approach for fabricating far-infrared monolithic silicon microlens arrays using grayscale lithography and deep reactive ion etching. The design, fabrication, and characterization of the microlens arrays are discussed. We compare the designed and fabricated lens profile, and calculate that the fabricated lenses will achieve 84% encircled power for the designed detector, which is only 3% less than the designed performance. We also present methods developed for anti-reflection coating microlens arrays and for a silicon-to-silicon die bonding process to hybridize microlens arrays with detector arrays. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_00819 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Monolithic Kilopixel Silicon Microlens Arrays for Future Far-Infrared Observatories Cothard, Nicholas F. Stevenson, Thomas Mateo, Jennette Costen, Nicholas Denis, Kevin Perido, Joanna Schrock, Ian Wang, Frederick Glenn, Jason Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Future far-infrared astrophysics observatories will require focal plane arrays containing thousands of ultra-sensitive, superconducting detectors, each of which needs to be optically coupled to the telescope. At longer wavelengths, many approaches have been developed including feedhorn arrays and macroscopic arrays of lenslets. However, with wavelengths as short as 25 microns, optical coupling in the far-infrared remains challenging. In this paper, we present a novel approach for fabricating far-infrared monolithic silicon microlens arrays using grayscale lithography and deep reactive ion etching. The design, fabrication, and characterization of the microlens arrays are discussed. We compare the designed and fabricated lens profile, and calculate that the fabricated lenses will achieve 84% encircled power for the designed detector, which is only 3% less than the designed performance. We also present methods developed for anti-reflection coating microlens arrays and for a silicon-to-silicon die bonding process to hybridize microlens arrays with detector arrays. |
| title | Monolithic Kilopixel Silicon Microlens Arrays for Future Far-Infrared Observatories |
| topic | Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.00819 |