We report on the breadboard model of a polarization modulator unit (PMU) using a sapphire-based achromatic half-wave plate (HWP) for the low-frequency telescope (LFT) of LiteBIRD, the JAXA-led space mission to probe cosmic inflation by observing the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. The PMU is a key component to reduce 1/f noise and the systematic effects between the two orthogonal polarized detectors. For the HWP, we glued together the surfaces of five 330 mm diameter sapphire plates using hydro catalysis bonding, working as HWP in LFT bands. We also fabricated anti-reflective sub-wavelength structures using ultra-short pulsed laser ablation. For the rotation mechanism, we use a superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) and contactless synchronous motor to levitate, and rotate the HWP without any contact. Optical measurements show that fabricated HWP archives broadband transmission and polarization efficiency to obtain a sensitivity close to an ideal HWP. We investigate and characterize each component of the rotation mechanism, SMB, encoder to measure the rotation angle of HWP, and the holder mechanism. We improved the design of the rotation mechanism and reduced the total mass from 34.7 kg to 21.7 kg, which is significant reduction for the mass limited satellite mission. The knowledge of characterization for each component can be scaled to the size of the flight model of 480 mm diameter.
We present the development of a breadboard model achromatic half-wave plate (AHWP) for the LiteBIRD Low-Frequency Telescope (LFT). LiteBIRD is a JAXA-led strategic L-class satellite mission to probe the cosmic microwave background polarization. The breadboard model (BBM) polarization modulator unit (PMU) of the LFT uses an AHWP, which achieves an observational frequency coverage 34-161 GHz using a five-layer sapphire stack with a diameter of 330 mm based on the Pancharatnam recipe. The sub-wavelength structures on both end surfaces mitigate the reflection over broadband frequencies. The designed single sapphire plate thickness is 4.95 mm, with a corresponding half-wave shift center frequency of 97.5 GHz. We use hydro-catalysis bonding to glue the sapphire surfaces and assemble the five-layer AHWP. The AHWP is successfully assembled and measured. The transmittance and polarization properties are consistent with the theoretical prediction that neglects the effect of the bonding interfaces. In this work, we present the AHWP design, the assembly process, and the polarimetric characterization. We also discuss the path-forward for this BBM AHWP including the cryogenic and vibrational tests, and the development plan for the flight-size engineering model.
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