Oral Presentation

SIS photon detector for THz observation beyond gap energy

Author(s): Niwa Ayako (University of Tsukuba)

Presenter: Ayako Niwa (University of Tsukuba)

THz observation provides information on thermal radiation and atomic emission lines of celestial bodies and holds the key to elucidating the state of the early universe and the process of galaxy and star formation. However, the sensitivity of the heterodyne interferometer is limited during phase measurement in the high frequency region by the quantum noise. High resolution observation above 1 THz has not yet become a reality. Photon Counting THz Interferometry (PCTI) aims for high sensitivity and high resolution imaging with aperture synthesis by intensity correlation. The delay time can be obtained from the observation of photon bunching. SIS junction has a fast absorption mechanism, so it is suitable for single photon detection. But the behavior in the frequency region above gap energy of SIS is not yet well understood. We are trying to clarify its principle and apply SIS photon counting detector for PCTI to 1.5 THz observation.