Figure 3. Saturation power for existing detectors.
Figure 3 shows the region of available saturation powers for existing detector mechanical designs as a function of transition temperature. The shaded region encompasses those detectors that can be built with current technology; above this region, the devices cannot be made with enough conductance, so will saturate. Below this region, devices will conduct so much power as to be insensitive. In reality, this region will likely tend to be shallower at high temperatures. For most applications with a known saturation power, the optimum transition temperature will fall slightly to the left of the lower edge of the shaded region (e.g., Tc=440mK for SPIRE).