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IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

Toward a Superconducting Magnetic Thermal Modulator for Bolometric Detectors

Enrico Petriella, Matías Rolf Hampel, J. Bonaparte, J. Bonilla-Neira, Gabriel Bosch, J.M. Geria, Nahuel Agustín Müller, Manuel Elías García Redondo, Lucía Sucunza, L.P. Ferreyro, Alan Fuster, Alejandro Almela, Sebastian Kempf, M. Platino

Published May 20, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present the preliminary development and characterization of a superconducting thermal switch designed to modulate the thermal response of cryogenic bolometers. The device uses an aluminum thermal link whose conductance is modulated by a niobium control coil. Initial measurements confirm the feasibility of the switching principle and demonstrate dynamic operation at least up to 50 kHz. These early results indicate that this approach can shift the signal spectrum away from 1/f noise, with ongoing efforts focused on integration with bolometric sensors and optimizing device geometry.

DOI
10.1109/tasc.2026.3695268

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We present the preliminary development and characterization of a superconducting thermal switch designed to modulate the thermal response of cryogenic bolometers. The device uses an aluminum thermal link whose conductance is modulated by a niobium control coil. Initial measurements confirm the feasibility of the switching principle and demonstrate dynamic operation at least up to 50 kHz. These early results indicate that this approach can shift the signal spectrum away from 1/f noise, with ongoing efforts focused on integration with bolometric sensors and optimizing device geometry.
The sensitivity of a bolometer is in principle limited by the phonon noise, which is a function of the conductance between its absorber and the thermal sink. However, practical issues limit the degree to which conductance can be minimized. For example, in a high-radiation environment, extremely low conductance, or, equivalently, long thermal recovery time, can lead to high data loss. To circumvent such limitations, we are developing a technique of modulating the conductance through the use of pixel-scale superconducting heat switches. We have fabricated bolometer-like test devices consisting of isolated regions connected to a thermal ground plane through narrow aluminum strips. Niobium coils are patterned around the aluminum strips. Flowing current through a coil allows the aluminum to be driven into the normal or high thermal conductance state. We have measured the conductance of these devices as a function of temperature and drive coil current.
A switch is a device that controls signal on/off, serving as a critical component for ensuring efficient and stable operation of electronic systems. In recent years, room-temperature semiconductor switches, MHz-band power switches, and optical-band temperature-controlled switches have been widely applied. However, these devices often fail in cryogenic environments due to carrier de-formation effects, limiting their use in low-temperature applications. To address this issue, we propose a low-temperature RF switch based on a distributed half-wavelength superconducting coplanar waveguide resonator. This device leverages the thermal sensitivity of the dynamic inductance in superconducting thin films to achieve signal switching through temperature modulation. Using time-domain coupled-mode theory, we designed a superconducting Fano device and analyzed how its physical parameters regulate signal transmission. We measured the temperature-dependent characteristics of the Fano resonance peak in the825−1150mK825-1150 \text{mK}825−1150mKtemperature range and characterized its on/off functionality for specific RF signals. The results demonstrate that the device can achieve on/off control for an RF signal atfc=5.86832GHz\boldsymbol{f}_{\boldsymbol{c}}=5.86832 \text{GHz}fc​=5.86832GHz, with a maximum extinction ratio of28.2 dB\mathbf{2 8. 2 ~ d B}28.2 dB.
We present a model of the response of superconducting AC bolometers to signal and noise using parameters and matrix formalism that were previously adopted in modeling DC bolometers and microcalorimeters. The model was developed to investigate novel AC bolometer designs, which have properties not described by previous models. It is applicable to kinetic inductance devices, kinetic inductance thermometers, AC transition edge sensors, and other technologies based on AC read out and frequency mixing. The AC bolometer model includes the temperature and current dependence of both resistive and inductive bolometers and microcalorimeters. The bolometers may be thermal or athermal. The model compactly describes the complex relationships between electrical and thermal signals and it simplifies the associated calculations. This model is useful for characterizing bolometers, predicting the effects of various noise sources on performance and designing new detectors. Additionally, a measurement technique is developed for characterizing these devices.
The development of large superconducting bolometer (Transition Edge Sensor: TES) arrays requires ultra low noise amplification and multiplexing electronics. The use of a first transducer stage such as a SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device) allows ultimate performance in terms of noise. However, the linearization of the SQUID characteristic requires low noise amplification. Furthermore, to realize a time domain multiplexer with SQUIDs, switched biasing is also needed. We have designed an Integrated Circuit (IC) in standard BiCMOS SiGe technology for the readout and the control of a SQUID multiplexer. It includes a low noise amplifier with multiplexed inputs, switched current sources for SQUIDs, and digital circuit for the addressing with only one room temperature clock signal. We have successfully tested this integrated circuit down to 2 K. To validate the operation of a SQUID multiplexer controlled by this SiGe cryogenic IC, we have developed a 2×2 SQUID hybrid demonstrator. It consists of four commercial SQUIDs connected to a SiGe IC.
We design a superconducting thermoelectric bolometer made of a Graphene-Insulator-Superconductor tunnel junction. Our detector has the advantage of being passive, as it directly transduces input power to a voltage without the need to modulate an external bias. We characterize the device via numerical simulation of the full nonlinear thermal dynamical model of the junction, considering heating of both sides of the junction. While estimating noise contributions, we found novel expressions due to the temperatures of both sides being different than the bath temperature. Numerical simulations show a Noise Equivalent Power NEP∼4×10−17 W/Hz{\rm NEP}\sim 4\times 10^{-17}\,{\rm W}/\sqrt{\rm Hz}NEP∼4×10−17W/Hz​ for an input power of ∼10−16 W\sim10^{-16}\,{\rm W}∼10−16W, a response time of τth∼200 nsτ_{th}\sim 200\, {\rm ns}τth​∼200ns and an integration time to obtain a Signal-to-Noise Ratio SNR=1{\rm SNR}=1SNR=1 of τSNR=1∼100 μsτ_{\rm SNR=1}\sim 100\,μ{\rm s}τSNR=1​∼100μs for an input power ∼10−13 W\sim 10^{-13}\,{\rm W}∼10−13W. Therefore, the device shows promise for large-array cosmological experiment applications, also considering its advantages for fabrication and heat budget.
The authors are developing a bolometer with a temperature sensor based on the temperature dependence of the inductance of a superconducting microstrip line. As a first step in exploring this idea experimentally, they have designed experiments to test only the temperature sensor. The experimental devices are all-niobium inductance thermometers fabricated on silicon substrates which have been deeply etched to provide areas of relative thermal isolation. The ground plane superconductor is thin enough so that its kinetic inductance dominates the audio frequency impedance of the stripline near its critical temperature, at 0.9 T/sub c/. This differential thermometer uses a commercial SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) as the preamplifier. Preliminary results demonstrate a proof-of-principle for the thermometer design. An important quality factor for this type of measurement system is the depth of the null. The authors achieved a high value of 0.4*10/sup -6/, which is satisfying for a first try.>