Abstract

Observations of the intensity of the sky at millimeter (mm) wavelengths require accurate calibrations for the spectrometers to work with radio telescopes. However, calibrating is a complex and lengthy process for sensitive detectors that catch single photons. To improve efficiency in locating defective detectors and optimizing bias current, my research involves taking data from previous lab characterizations and creating an algorithm that analyzes and plots the code of all 1920 detectors. This thesis will discuss the importance of mm-wavelength intensity mapping and the questions the TIME research team aims to address. Also, a detailed description of mechanical and computational components is presented. Lastly, I discuss my contribution to creating the analytical software for detector calibration and show results from my software.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Spectrometer--Calibration; Imaging systems in astronomy; Radio telescopes

Publication Date

7-16-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Physics (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Physics and Astronomy, School of

College

College of Science

Advisor

Michael Zemcov

Advisor/Committee Member

George Thurston

Advisor/Committee Member

Michael Kotlarchyk

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

PHYS-MS

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