title: Electrical and optical measurements on the first SCUBA-2 prototype 1280 pixel submillimeter superconducting bolometer array.
abstract: SCUBA-2 is a submillimeter camera being built for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii. Bringing CCD style imaging to the submillimeter for the first time, with over 10000 pixels, it will provide a revolutionary improvement in sensitivity and mapping speed. We present results of the first tests on a prototype 1280 pixel SCUBA-2 subarray; the full instrument will be made up of eight such subarrays. The array is made up of transition edge sensor (TES) detectors, with Mo/Cu bilayers as the sensing element. To keep the number of wires reasonable, a multiplexed readout is used. Unlike previous TES arrays, an in-focal plane multiplexer configuration is used, in which the multiplexing elements are located beneath each pixel. To achieve the required performance, the detectors are operated at a temperature of approximately 120 mK. We describe the results of a basic electrical and optical characterization of the array, demonstrating that it is fully operational. Noise measurements were made on several pixels and gave a noise equivalent power below 2.5 x 10(-17) W HZ(-0.5), within the requirements for SCUBA-2. The construction of the testbed used to carry out these measurements is also described.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Queen's Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Adam L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Woodcraft
authors.forename: Peter A R
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Ade
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bintley
authors.forename: Julian S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: House
authors.forename: Cynthia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Rashmi V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Sudiwala
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Doriese
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: Gene C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Hilton
authors.forename: Kent D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.forename: Carl D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Reintsema
authors.forename: Joel N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Ullom
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Audley
authors.forename: Maureen A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Wayne S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: MacIntosh
authors.forename: Camelia C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Dunare
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Parkes
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Walton
authors.forename: Jan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Kycia
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Halpern
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schulte