A Position Sensitive X-ray Spectrophotometer using Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors

The surface impedance of a superconductor changes when energy is absorbed and Cooper pairs are broken to produce single electron (quasiparticle) excitations. This change may be sensitively measured using a thin-film resonant circuit called a microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID). The practical application of MKIDs for photon detection requires a method of efficiently coupling the photon energy to the MKID. We present results on position sensitive X-ray detectors made by using two aluminum MKIDs on either side of a tantalum photon absorber strip. Diffusion constants, recombination times, and energy resolution are reported. MKIDs can easily be scaled into large arrays.