We have measured the parameters of a prototype kinetic inductance thermometer for X-ray calorimetry which was fabricated at GSFC. This device consists of an aluminum meander strip and ground plane and operates at about 1.2 K. For thermal isolation, the device was suspended on Kevlar threads along with a heater and a germanium resistance thermometer. The meander strip was included in the tank circuit of a 10 MHz tunnel diode oscillator operating at about 1 K. The kinetic inductance was measured by monitoring the oscillator frequency. The temperature dependence of the kinetic inductance was found to be in reasonable agreement with the behavior predicted from the device parameters. Having characterized this proof-of-concept device, we intend to investigate the suitability of kinetic inductors operating at lower temperatures for X-ray calorimetry.
Michael D. Audley,
Richard L. Kelley,
and Gayle L. Rawley
NASA / Goddard Spaceflight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA