Cryogenic SiGe ASICs for readout and multiplexing of superconducting detector arrays

This paper presents an ultra low noise instrumentation based on cryogenic electronic integrated circuits (ASICs: Application Specific Integrated Circuits). We have designed successively two ASICs in standard BiCMOS SiGe 0.35 μm technology that have proved to be operating at cryogenic temperatures. The main functions of these circuits are the readout and the multiplexing of TES/SQUID arrays. We report the cryogenic operation of a first ASIC version dedicated to the readout of a 2 × 4 pixel demonstrator array. We particularly emphasize on the development and the test phases of an ultra low white noise (0.2 nV/sqrtHz) cryogenic amplifier designed with two multiplexed inputs. The cryogenic SiGe amplifier coupled to a SQUID in a FLL operating at 4.2 K is also presented. We finally report on the development of a second version of this circuit to readout a 3 × 8 detectors array with improved noise performances and upgraded functionalities.