Abstract

We summarize the fabrication, flight qualification, and dark performance of bolometers completed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the High Frequency Instrument (HFI) of the joint ESA/NASA Herschel/Planck mission to be launched in 2009. The HFI is a multicolor focal plane which consists of 52 bolometers operated at $100\mathrm{mK}$. Each bolometer is mounted to a feedhorn-filter assembly which defines one of six frequency bands centered between $100–857\mathrm{GHz}$. Four detectors in each of five bands from $143–857\mathrm{GHz}$ are coupled to both linear polarizations and thus measure the total intensity. In addition, eight detectors in each of four bands (100, 143, 217, and $353\mathrm{GHz}$) couple only to a single linear polarization and thus provide measurements of the Stokes parameters, Q and U, as well as the total intensity. The measured noise equivalent power (NEP) of all detectors is at or below the background limit for the telescope and time constants are a few ms, short enough to resolve point sources as the 5 to $9\text{\hspace{0.17em} arc min}$ beams move across the sky at $1\mathrm{rpm}$.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

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