Abstract. We have tested a fully microfabricated superconducting bolometer array for astrophysical observations at submillimetre wavelengths. The system is cooled by a ³He sorption refrigerator operating in a pumped ⁴He cryostat. The transition edge bolometer uses a bilayer of molybdenum and a gold–palladium alloy with a transition temperature of around 500 mK as the thermometer. The bolometer is voltage biased, and the current is measured by a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) ammeter.

Print publication: Issue 12 (December 2003)
Received 17 July 2003
Published 5 November 2003