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Quantum detectors for the CMB

One field seeing a very rapid evolution, in which Italian groups were included from the very start and are obtaining prominent results, is that which uses KIDs, Kinetic Inductance Detectors.

Kinetic Inductance Detectors are the latest generation of detectors based on the presence of a gap between the energy levels of a superconductor. This is analogous to what happens in semiconductor detectors, but the gap in the case of superconductors is about one thousand times smaller, allowing for the detection of much lower frequency photons (down to about 90 GHz).

The characteristic that makes these detectors ideal candidates for future balloon or satellite missions is the possibility to read even 104-105 pixels via a single coaxial cable and a wide band HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) amplifier, enormously reducing the thermal load on the cryogenic stage of the experiment.

In addition, the manufacturing process is relatively simple and flexible, feasible in Italian facilities, and the freedom in the choice of materials allows KIDs to be used for wavelengths that go from the millimetre to the X-ray band.

Lake Como Schools on Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravitation

Jul 08, 2025

Lake Como Schools on Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravitation It has been held at Como – Villa del Grumello, 23-27 June, the 2025 edition of the “Lake Como Schools on Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravitation” on the theme “Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the Cosmological Tensions”

The Lucchin Schools Return

Jun 01, 2025

The Lucchin Schools Return First Edition of the New INAF PhD School Series Concludes in Asiago

MISTRAL, a wind of change in the SRT observations

May 29, 2025

MISTRAL, a wind of change in the SRT observations MISTRAL is a new-generation receiver for observations at millimeter wavelengths, built as part of the recent project to upgrade the Sardinia Radio Telescope for the study of the high-frequency radio universe. The main features of this instrument are the very high number of detectors cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero and a dedicated cold optical system, which allow for extremely sharp images. MISTRAL made its “first light” by observing three different celestial objects: the Orion Nebula, the radio lobes of the supermassive black hole in the galaxy M87, and the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. These images represent the first scientific observations at 90 GHz ever obtained using the SRT