Design and first-light performance of TES bolometer arrays for submillimeter spectroscopy with ZEUS-2

We have recently commissioned the 2nd generation redshift(z) and Early Universe Spectrometer (ZEUS-2) at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. ZEUS-2 is a long-slit grating spectrometer (R~1000) for observations in the submillimeter wavelength regime that is optimized for observations of redshifted far-infrared spectral lines from galaxies in the early universe. Here we report on the design and first light performance of the first TES bolometer array installed in ZEUS-2. This array features 280 pixels each 1.26 mm square and arranged to provide ~35 pixel spectra at ~8 spatial positions on the sky. A 1/4-wavelength back short of 100 micron and gold mesh absorber matching the impedance of free space provides near 90% quantum efficiency for the 350 and 450 micron telluric windows. Array readout is done using SQUID multiplexers and the Multichannel Electronics. We will also report on the progress to install two additional arrays tuned to provide similar performance across the remaining telluric windows between 200-850 microns.

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