SCUBA-2

At very long (sub-mm) wavelengths, there are no suitable detectors available commercially and we have experience of partnering with other institutes to develop new detector arrays with the necessary ultra-low noise performance, which we then build into a complete imaging system. The detectors are usually based on bolometer technology and a recent instrument was even based on superconducting detectors with SQUID read-out. [link to SCUBA-2].


Key Specifications

  • A wide-field optical design encompassing the 50 square arc-minute field-of-view
  • Detectors with sensitivities governed by the sky background
  • A focal plane design with separate arrays optimised for 450 and 850μm
  • Fully-sampled images of the sky being achievable in ≤ 4 seconds
  • Detectors that are DC-coupled to read-out electronics
  • Novel imaging modes to realise large area surveys

Key Features

  • Superconducting TES detectors – in focal plane SQUID multiplexers bump-bonded to the detector chip
  • A liquid-cryogen free dilution refrigerator to cool the arrays to 100mK
  • Pulse-tube coolers to cool the cryostat optics to 4K to minimise extraneous background on the arrays
  • A cold shutter for taking “dark” frames
  • A high efficiency dichroic to split the incoming beam to the two arrays
  • A rapid data reduction pipeline to process images in real time
  • Highly complex thermal design
Bolometer Array

Bolometer Array