Far-infrared to millimeter-wave bolometers designed to make astronomical observations are typically encased in integrating cavities at the termination of feedhorns or Winston cones. This photometer combination maximizes absorption of radiation, enables the absorber area to be minimized, and controls the directivity of absorption, thereby reducing susceptibility to stray light. In the next decade, arrays of hundreds of silicon nitride micromesh bolometers with planar architectures will be used in ground-based, suborbital, and orbital platforms for astronomy. The optimization of integrating cavity designs is required for achieving the highest possible sensitivity for these arrays. We report numerical simulations of the electromagnetic fields in integrating cavities with an infinite plane-parallel geometry formed by a solid reflecting backshort and the back surface of a feedhorn array block. Performance of this architecture for the bolometer array camera (Bolocam) for cosmology at a frequency of 214 GHz is investigated. We explore the sensitivity of absorption efficiency to absorber impedance and backshort location and the magnitude of leakage from cavities. The simulations are compared with experimental data from a room-temperature scale model and with the performance of Bolocam at a temperature of 300 mK. The main results of the simulations for Bolocam-type cavities are that (1) monochromatic absorptions as high as 95% are achievable with <1% cross talk between neighboring cavities, (2) the optimum absorber impedances are 400 Ω/sq, but with a broad maximum from ~150 to ~700 Ω/sq, and (3) maximum absorption is achieved with absorber diameters ≥1.5λ. Good general agreement between the simulations and the experiments was found.

© 2002 Optical Society of America

[Optical Society of America ]

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

Related Journal Articles

• Broadband femtosecond transient infrared spectroscopy using a 256 x 256 element indium antimonide focal-plane detector (OL)
• Silicon nitride Micromesh Bolometer Array for Submillimeter Astrophysics (AO)
• Model for excess noise in voltage-biased superconducting bolometers (AO)
• Power coupled between partially coherent vector fields in different states of coherence (JOSAA)
• Analyzing the power coupled between partially coherent waveguide fields in different states of coherence (JOSAA)

Related Conference Papers

• 640 x 480 Uncooled Amorphous Silicon IRFPA with 25 µm pixel-pitch
• High Uniformity, Stability, and Reliability Large-Format InGaAs APD Arrays
• Demonstration of a Two Color 320 x 256 Quantum Dots-in-a-Well Focal Plane Array
• Demonstration of a Two Color 320 x 256 Quantum Dots-in-a-Well Focal Plane Array
• Demonstration of a Two Color 320 x 256 Quantum Dots-in-a-Well Focal Plane Array