Design and performance of a high resolution<i>μ</i>-spec: an integrated sub-millimeter spectrometer

Abstract

<i>&mu;-</i>Spec is a compact submillimeter (~ 100 GHz - 1:1 THz) spectrometer which uses low loss superconducting microstrip transmission lines and a single-crystal silicon dielectric to integrate all of the components of a diffraction grating spectrometer onto a single chip. We have already successfully evaluated the performance of a prototype <i>&mu;-</i>Spec, with spectral resolving power,<i> R=64</i>. Here we present our progress towards developing a higher resolution <i>&mu;-</i>Spec, which would enable the first science returns in a balloon flight version of this instrument. We describe modifications to the design in scaling from a <i>R=64 </i>to a <i>R=256 </i>instrument, as well as the ultimate performance limits and design concerns when scaling this instrument to higher resolutions.