Demonstration of Ultra-Sensitive KIDs for Future THz Space Borne Polarimeters

We present measurements and simulations of the polarization purity of leaky lens-antenna coupled microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) at 1.5 THz. We find the integrated cross-polarization level to be at -21.5 dB for 1 f#$\lambda$ spatial sampling. The measurements agree well with the theoretical description which is based on a combination of in-transmission simulation of the antenna feed, and an in-reception analysis of the antenna-KID system. Combined with the measured noise equivalent power of 5–7$\times$10${}^{-20}$ W/$\sqrt{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{z}}$, these detectors are excellent candidates for large scale and high performance imaging polarimetric instruments.