Electrothermal Model of Kinetic Inductance Detectors

Abstract: An electrothermal model of Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) is described. The non-equilibrium state of the resonator's quasiparticle system is characterized by an effective temperature, which because of readout-power heating is higher than that of the bath. By balancing the flow of energy into the quasiparticle system, it is possible to calculate the steady-state large-signal, small-signal and noise behaviour. Resonance-curve distortion and hysteretic switching appear naturally within the framework. It is shown that an electrothermal feedback process exists, which affects all aspects of behaviour. It is also shown that generation-recombination noise can be interpreted in terms of the thermal fluctuation noise in the effective thermal conductance that links the quasiparticle and phonon systems of the resonator. Because the scheme is based on electrothermal considerations, multiple elements can be added to simulate the behaviour of complex devices, such as resonators on membranes, again taking into account readout power heating.