Model and Measurements of an Optical Stack for Broadband Visible to Near-Infrared Absorption in TiN MKIDs

Abstract

Typical materials for optical Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detetectors (MKIDs) are metals with a natural absorption of ∼ 30–50% in the visible and near-infrared. To reach high absorption efficiencies (90–100%) the KID must be embedded in an optical stack. We show an optical stack design for a 60 nm TiN film. The optical stack is modeled as sections of transmission lines, where the parameters for each section are related to the optical properties of each layer. We derive the complex permittivity of the TiN film from a spectral ellipsometry measurement. The designed optical stack is optimised for broadband absorption and consists of, from top (illumination side) to bottom: 85 nm SiO2, 60 nm TiN, 23 nm of SiO2, and a 100 nm thick Al mirror. We show the modeled absorption and reflection of this stack, which has >80% absorption from 400 to 1550 nm and near-unity absorption for 500–800 nm. We measure transmission and reflection of this stack with a commercial spectrophotometer. The results are in good agreement with the model.