BICEP Array: 150 GHz detector module development

• Main Authors: Schillaci, A., Ade, P. A. R., Ahmed, Z., Amiri, M., Barkats, D., Basu Thakur, R., Bischoff, C. A., Beck, D., Bock, J. J., Buza, V., Cheshire, J., Connors, J., Cornelison, J., Crumrine, M., Cukierman, A., Denison, E., Dierickx, M., Duband, L., Eiben, M., Fatigoni, S., Filippini, J. P., Giannakopoulos, C., Goeckner-Wald, N., Goldfinger, D., Grayson, J. A., Grimes, P., Hall, G., Halal, G., Halpern, M., Hand, E., Harrison, S., Henderson, S., Hildebrandt, S. R., Hilton, G. C., Hubmayr, J., Hui, H., Irwin, K. D., Kang, J., Karkare, K. S., Kefeli, S., Kovac, J. M., Kuo, C. L., Lau, K., Leitch, E. M., Lennox, A., Megerian, K. G., Miller, O. Y., Minutolo, L., Moncelsi, L., Nakato, Y., Namikawa, T., Nguyen, H. T., O'Brient, R., Palladino, S., Petroff, M., Precup, N., Prouve, T., Pryke, C., Racine, B., Reintsema, C. D., Schmitt, B. L., Singari, B., Soliman, A., St. Germaine, T., Steinbach, B., Sudiwala, R. V., Thompson, K. L., Tucker, C., Turner, A. D., Umilta, C., Verges, C., Vieregg, A. G., Wandui, A., Weber, A. C., Wiebe, D. V., Willmert, J., Wu, W. L. K., Yang, E., Yoon, K. W., Young, E., Yu, C., Zeng, L., Zhang, C., Zhang, S.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: https://authors.library.caltech.edu/114226/; https://authors.library.caltech.edu/114226/1/2111.14785.pdf; https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20220411-225204179

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.