A PROTOTYPE KINETIC INDUCTANCE THERMOMETER FOR X-RAY CALORIMETRY

We have measured the parameters of a prototype kinetic inductance ther mometer for X-ray calorimetry which was fabricated at GSFC. This devic e consists of an aluminum meander strip and ground plane and operates at about 1.2 K. For thermal isolation, the device was suspended on Kev lar threads along with a heater and a germanium resistance thermometer . The meander strip was included in the tank circuit of a 10 MHz tunne l diode oscillator operating at about 1 K. The kinetic inductance was measured by monitoring the oscillator frequency. The temperature depen dence of the kinetic inductance was found to be in reasonable agreemen t with the behavior predicted from the device parameters. Having chara cterized this proof-of-concept device, we intend to investigate the su itability of kinetic inductors operating at lower temperatures for X-r ay calorimetry.