NIKA

This page is maintained by CK and SL

NIKA1 Overview

The New IRAM KIDs Array (NIKA) is a Kinetic Inductance Detectors camera for bolometric observations at the IRAM 30m telescope. This is a dual band instrument using few hundreds of Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KID). The KID resonances variations which are dependent on the incoming power are probed by a comb of tones allowing to perform frequency domain multiplexing. Being a prototype in constant evolution the arrays characteristics (number of pixels, field of view, sensitivity, etc.) have evolved over the years from each test run to the other. The main characteristics of the latest configuration are summarized on the above table.
NIKA has been built by the Institut Néel (IN), in Grenoble, France under the lead of Alain Benoit, and with the contributions of other persons forming the NIKA collaboration. In 2013 the main contributing institutes are IN, IRAM, IPAG, LPSC, AIG Cardiff.

Call for proposals for the winter semester 2013/14

NIKA is offered for the 1^st time to the community:

• Call for observing proposals with the 30m

• Guidelines to estimate observing times (Billot et al. 2013).

Publications

• Calvo et al. 2013

• Monfardini et al. 2011

• Monfardini et al. 2010

Team

• Overall coordinator: Samuel Leclercq <leclercq@iram.fr> (IRAM/Grenoble)

• NIKA team: collaboration between groups from the Institut Néel, IPAG, LPSC, AIG Cardiff, SRON, CEA, and IRAM. The Néel Institute is the main constructor of the NIKA prototype, and is coordinating the various groups. Main support team:

  • Alain Benoit <alain.benoit@grenoble.cnrs.fr> (PI, IN)

  • Alessandro Monfardini <monfardini@grenoble.cnrs.fr> (co-PI, IN)

  • François-Xavier Désert <francois-xavier.desert@obs.ujf-grenoble.fr> (IPAG)

  • Martino Calvo <martino.calvo@grenoble.cnrs.fr> (IN)

  • Antonio D'Addabbo <antonio.d-addabbo@grenoble.cnrs.fr> (IN)

  • Nicolas Ponthieu (IPAG)

  • Juan Macias-Perez <macias@lpsc.in2p3.fr> (LPSC)

  • Andrea Catalano <catalano@lpsc.in2p3.fr> (LPSC)

  • Remi Adam <adam@lpsc.in2p3.fr> (LPSC)

• IRAM support team:

  • Carsten Kramer (station manager, <kramer@iram.es>)

  • Robert Zylka
  • Albrecht Sievers
  • Nicolas Billot
  • Walter Brunswig

Test runs 2009-2014

7th test run, Early 2014

Go to the 7th run Wiki page

6th test run, June 2013

Go to the 6th run Wiki page

5th test run, November 2012

Go to the 5th run Wiki page

4th test run, June 2012

Go to the 4th run Wiki page

3rd test run, October 2011

Go to the 3rd run Wiki page

2nd test run, October 2010

Go to the 2nd run Wiki page

1st test run, October 2009

Go to the 1st run Wiki page

Procedure for cooling down the PT NIKA cryostat

See page dedicated to this procedure

NIKA2

NIKA1 is a 2.3' FOV prototype used to test the technologies to be used in the bigger 6.5' FOV NIKA2 instrument currently in development phase.

NIKA2 main web page

NIKA2 development dedicated private Wiki