ULTRA-LOW LOSS TECHNOLOGIES LLC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration STTR Phase I: T8

Description

Here we propose developing a spectrometer where the light is separated and channelized by an photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and is then detected by an energy-resolving superconducting detector. nbsp;nbsp;Thenbsp; instrument would be a radical new type of high resolution spectrograph applicable for both multi-object and integral field unit (IFU) nbsp;spectroscopy and other fiber-fed light applications. nbsp;Our goal is to create a nbsp;high resolution multi-object spectrograph (HRMOS) by marrying two breakthroughnbsp; technologies, ultra-low loss arrayed waveguidenbsp; gratings (AWG)nbsp; andnbsp; Microwave Kinetic Inductancenbsp; Detectors, or MKIDs. MKIDs can determinenbsp; the energy of each arriving photon without readnbsp; noise or dark current, and with high temporalnbsp; resolution. The AWG allows us to disperse lightnbsp; from the nbsp;telescope, in a compact way and to position the dispersed light into numerous output channels which we can advantageously position (i.e. dispersed not just by the angle at which it diffracts off a prism or grating). The MKID allows us to distinguish between thenbsp; orders in the disperse light contained within thenbsp; channels, eliminated the need for a cross-disperser. In other words, the energy resolution ofnbsp; the MKID allows us to determine which echelle order the photon came from.