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Scientific Report 2007-2009
Laboratories and Facilities of the Department of Physics
L23. Experimental Cosmology Lab
The Experimental Cosmology laboratory produces and tests instrumentation
for observations of the sky at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths. The
group is involved, since 1980, in many experiments with different observational
sites: ground-based, balloon borne and satellite. In this laboratory has been
developed and actually built hardware for the MITO observatory on the Alps,
the BRAIN experiment in Antarctica, the BOOMERanG balloon and the High
Frequency Instrument aboard of the Planck satellite of ESA.
The laboratory is equipped with facilities for: a) developing and assembling
radiation filters and new technology detectors, like KIDs, specifically for mmbands;
b) testing and developing readout low noise electronics; c) cryogenic
systems for ensuring low temperatures (≤ 300 mK) for detectors and optical
systems; d) calibrating photometers, polarimeters and spectrometers in the
sub/mm spectral range.
Each facility is composed of:
a) an evaporation chamber (Jep 600 by RIAL Vacuum) with gauge controller,
thickness monitor and pumping systems; an optical microscope (Leica Wild
M3Z), a lapping and polishing machine (mod. 920 by South Bay Technology
Inc.), a controlled atmosphere chamber (mod. 855 AC by Plas-Labs Inc.), hot
press and wire saw.
b) lock-in amplifiers (SR 850 and SR 830), oscilloscopes, AC and DC power
suppliers, spectrum analysers, 24 bit data acquisition units. For the KIDs effort
we have a 20 GHz vector analyzer, a 40 GHz CW synthesizer, and a dedicated
cryogenic system with low-noise HEMT amplifiers.
c) Wet cryostats (Infrared Labs, QMC Ltd and
self manufactured), cryogens transfer tubes, different
size dewars for liquid nitrogen and liquid helium,
3 leak detectors (Alcatel and Pfeiffer). Three
dry cryostats based on pulse tube refrigerators
(Cryomec, Sumitomo, Vericold). Two of them include
3 He fridges for continuous operation at 0.3K
without the need of ordering liquid Helium and liquid
nitrogen, and one of them includes a dilution
fridge for operation down to 55 mK.
d) lamellar grating fourier transform spectrometer
(mod. LR-100 by RIIC 50 mm stroke of the
moving mirror); Large throughput Martin Pupplett
Iterferometer (600 mm stroke of the moving
mirror), 10-20 mW Gunn oscillators for the 90 and
150 GHz bands, 30 mW BWO source for the 350
GHz band, a 1-m in diameter off-axis parabolic f/2
mirror for generating plane mm-waves, cold and hot blackbody sources.
In the laboratory is also present a small machine
shop including a combo mill-lathe and a drill press
with accessory tools, for quick modification of mechanical
parts.
For the integration of our large volume balloon
payloads we have setup externally a large industrial
tent with a usable internal volume of 10×8×6 m 3 .
We have a 5 m Gantry-Crane with 2 Ton lift capability
inside the tent, and a smooth concrete floor
for moving the crane and carts with payloads. This
is the largest volume integration facility of our Department.
Both the BOOMERanG and OLIMPO
payloads are integrated in this facility.
http://oberon.roma1.infn.it/
Related research activities : A11, A12, A13,
A14
Figure 1: Evaporation system RIAL used
to produce resonant filters and mm-wave
detectors
Figure 2: Testbench for Kinetic Inductance Detector arrays, composed
of synthesizer, vector analyzer for the 20 GHz band, lock-in amplifier,
pulse-tube cryogenic system and 3 He refrigerator.
Figure 3: The large throughput interferometer, an imaging instrument
with 0.5 cm 2 sr throughput, able to analyze millimeter waves in the
range 80-600 GHz, with resolution of 0.3 GHz.
Sapienza Università di Roma 192 Dipartimento di Fisica