Medida y verificación de circuitos integrados para aplicaciones en instrumentación astrofísica con MKIDs

Abstract

The main objective of this final degree project is to measure and verify an amplifier and an attenuator. The first is an integrated circuit (IC) manufactured with a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology, and the second is a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). The most notable measurements that were made were the s-parameters (to obtain the direct gain, inverse gain, reflection coefficient, etc.) and the linearity (third order intercept point and 1 dB compression point). The IC was measured directly on the wafer with a probe station, while for the MMIC, a microwave PCB (printed circuit board) was designed and manufactured. These devices are going to be used in the gain control stage of a readout system with microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs). Due to the fact that these specific detectors are based on the properties of superconductor materials, they have to be used at very low temperatures. For this reason, a series of considerations have had to be taken into account during the design of the PCB in order to be able to measure it in a cryostat. Other important aspects addressed in this work are related to the manufacture of the PCB, soldering, wire-bonding and special adhesives.