Metamaterial tiles increase the sensitivity of large telescopes

The Simons Observatory is a center that studies changes in the cosmic microwave

These measurements will helpbetter understand how the universe came to be, what it is made of, and how it evolved into what it is today. 

The Simons Observatory's telescopes will use a new ultra-sensitive millimeter camera to measure the afterglow of the big bang.We have developed a new low-cost tile that will be used in the chamber to absorb environmental emissions that candistort the measured signals. 

 Zhilei Xu, lead author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania

The researchers showed that the microwave metamaterial tiles they developed absorbMore than 99% of the radiation is millimeter wavelengths and retains its properties at extremely low temperatures. 

Tiles can be made by injection molding, and the materials from which they are made are inexpensive and economically available.

Ground-based millimeter telescopes use receivers that are cooled to cryogenic temperatures to reduce noise and increase sensitivity.Receiver technology has advanced so much that any amount of scattered light candegrade the image while reducing the sensitivity of the detector. 

However, developing a material capable of suppressing stray light when operating at such extremely low temperatures is quite challenging.Previous attempts resulted in materials either not being able to cool efficiently to cryogenic temperatures or failing to achieve the required combination of low reflectivity and high absorption. 

To overcome these difficulties, researchersturned to metamaterials, since they can be designed in such a way as to obtain properties not found in nature. After sophisticated electromagnetic simulation studies, scientists have developed metamaterials based on a material that combines particles of carbon and plastic.

By making sure that tiles made of the new metamaterial can withstand thermal cycles fromFrom room temperature to cryogenic, the researchers tested how they would cool down to -272°C  and then measured their optical performance.

Tests have shown that the metamaterial has excellent reflection properties with low scattering and absorbs almost all incoming photons.

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