Sensing the Universe in colour; Kinetic Inductance Detectors for optical and near-IR astronomy

I will describe the ongoing work in the development of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) for optical and infra-red astronomy. These super-conducting devices represent an important step towards the development of the ‘ultimate detector’; one that can measure the position, energy and arrival time of a photon. I will describe the operating principles of the devices and their current status. I will present the current MKID-based optical/IR instruments and show results from recent science demonstration runs. Finally, I will discuss the future promise of the technology and highlight some of the areas of astronomical instrumentation where they could have a transformational impact and our program at Oxford to exploit these devices.