Design and Characterization of a Phonon-Mediated Cryogenic Particle Detector with an eV-Scale Threshold and 100 keV-Scale Dynamic Range
R. Ren, C. Bathurst, Y. Y. Chang, R. Chen, C. W. Fink, Z. Hong, N. A. Kurinsky, N. Mast, N. Mishra, V. Novati, G. Spahn, H. Meyer zu Theenhausen, S. L. Watkins,… 展开作者
R. Ren, C. Bathurst, Y. Y. Chang, R. Chen, C. W. Fink, Z. Hong, N. A. Kurinsky, N. Mast, N. Mishra, V. Novati, G. Spahn, H. Meyer zu Theenhausen, S. L. Watkins, Z. Williams, M. J. Wilson, A. Zaytsev, D. Bauer, R. Bunker, E. Figueroa-Feliciano, M. Hollister, L. Hsu, P. Lukens, R. Mahapatra, N. Mirabolfathi, B. Nebolsky, M. Platt, F. Ponce, M. Pyle, T. Reynolds, T. Saab
We present the design and characterization of a cryogenic phonon-sensitive 1-gram Si detector exploiting the Neganov-Trofimov-Luke effect to detect single-charge excitations. This device achieved 2.65(2)~eV phonon energy resolution when operated without a voltage bias across the crystal and a corresponding charge resolution of 0.03 electron-hole pairs at 100~V bias. With a continuous-readout data acquisition system and an offline optimum-filter trigger, we obtain a 9.2~eV threshold with a trigger rate of the order of 20~Hz. The detector's energy scale is calibrated up to 120~keV using an energy estimator based on the pulse area. The high performance of this device allows its application to different fields where excellent energy resolution, low threshold, and large dynamic range are required, including dark matter searches, precision measurements of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering, and ionization yield measurements.
Scintillation response of cryogenic CsI to few-keV and sub-keV nuclear recoils
University of Chicago（芝加哥大学）；Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC)（多诺西亚国际物理中心）；Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science（伊克尔巴斯基克，巴斯克科学基金会）；Instituto de Física Corpuscular, CSIC & Universitat de València（粒子物理研究所，西班牙国家科学研究委员会与瓦伦西亚大学）
We have studied the scintillation of pure and doped sodium iodide crystals handled in low humidity conditions under external $α$ and $γ$ excitation from room temperature down to 4K. The light yield of pure sodium iodide was seen to increase at low temperatures by a factor 30 compared to room temperature, up to a maximum of 40 photons/keV under $γ$ excitation at 60K, stabilizing to 30 photons/keV at lower temperatures. Thallium doped sodium iodide fluctuates by 20% around the room temperature value, stabilizing at 40 photons/keV at low temperature. $α/ γ$ quenching factor stabilizes at roughly …
A two-phase Cryogenic Avalanche Detector (CRAD) with electroluminescence (EL) gap, operated in argon doped with a minor (49$\pm$7 ppm) admixture of nitrogen, has been studied. The EL gap was optically read out using cryogenic PMTs located on the perimeter of the gap. We present the results of the measurements of the N$_2$ content, detector sensitivity to X-ray-induced signals, EL gap yield and electron lifetime in the liquid. The detector sensitivity, at a drift field in liquid Ar of 0.6 kV/cm, was measured to be 9 and 16 photoelectrons recorded at the PMTs per keV of deposited energy at 23 an…
This work evaluates the viability of polyimide and parylene-C for passivation of lithium-drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detectors. The passivated Si(Li) detectors will form the particle tracker and X-ray detector of the General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment, a balloon-borne experiment optimized to detect cosmic antideuterons produced in dark matter annihilations or decays. Successful passivation coatings were achieved by thermally curing polyimides, and the optimized coatings form an excellent barrier against humidity and organic contamination. The passivated Si(Li) detectors deliver $…
The optical and scintillation properties of undoped, Si-doped, and Si, B co-doped GaAs samples were studied. The light yield specification and X-ray luminescence of GaAs over a wide IR region by using Si and InGaAs photodetectors are presented. The undoped GaAs demonstrated a narrow emission band at 838 nm (1.48 eV) and a low light output of about 2 ph/keV. The GaAs:Si is characterized by three broad luminescence bands at 830 nm (1.49 eV), 1070 nm (1.16 eV), 1335 nm (0.93 eV) and a light output of about 71 ph/keV. In the case of GaAs:(Si, B), four luminescence bands at 860 nm (1.44 eV), 930 nm…
Our team is developing the Cryogenic Anticoincidence Detector (CryoAC) of the ATHENA X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU). It is a 4-pixels TES-based detector, which will be placed less than 1 mm below the main TES array detector. We are now producing the CryoAC Demonstration Model (DM): a single pixel prototype able to probe the detector critical technologies, i.e. the operation at 50 mK thermal bath, the threshold energy at 20 keV and the reproducibility of the thermal conductance between the suspended absorber and the thermal bath. This detector will be integrated and tested in our cryogenic s…
We operated a PbMoO$_4$ scintillating cryogenic detector of 570 g, produced with archaeological lead. This compound features excellent low temperature characteristics in terms of light yield, 12 keV/MeV for $β/γ$ interactions, and FWHM energy resolution, 11.7 keV at 2.6 MeV. Furthermore, the detector allows for an effective particle identification by means of pulse shape analysis on the heat read-out channel. The implementation of innovative techniques and procedures for the purification of raw materials used for the crystal growth, and the highly-pure archaeological Pb, allowed the production…
Characterization and Optimization of a Cryogenic Pure CsI Detector with Remarkable Light Yield and Unprecedented Energy Resolution for CLOVERS Experiment
This paper reports the detailed noise characterization, investigation of various noise sources and its mitigation to improve the performance of a cryogenic bolometer detector. The noise spectrum has been measured for a sapphire bolometer test setup with indigenously developed NTD Ge sensor in the CFDR system at Mumbai. The effect of external noise, arising either from ground loops in the system or from the diagnostic and control electronics of the cryostat, on the performance of a cryogenic bolometer is assessed. A systematic comparison of the influence of different noise pickups on the bolome…
The Cryogenic AntiCoincidence Detector (CryoAC) of ATHENA X-IFU is designed to reduce the particle background of the instrument and to enable the mission science goals. It is a 4 pixel silicon microcalorimeter sensed by an Ir/Au TES network. We have developed the CryoAC Demonstration Model, a prototype aimed to probe the critical technologies of the detector, i.e. the suspended absorber with an active area of 1 cm2; the low energy threshold of 20 keV; and the operation connected to a 50 mK thermal bath with a power dissipation less than 40 nW. Here we report the test performed on the first Cry…
This paper is the first report of n-type GaAs as a cryogenic scintillation radiation detector for the detection of electron recoils from interacting dark matter (DM) particles in the poorly explored MeV/c2 mass range. Seven GaAs samples from two commercial suppliers and with different silicon and boron concentrations were studied for their low temperature optical and scintillation properties. All samples are n-type even at low temperatures and exhibit emission between silicon donors and boron acceptors that peaks at 1.33 eV (930 nm). The lowest excitation band peaks at 1.44 eV (860 nm) and the…
We have used a single-particle detector system, based on secondary electron emission, for counting low-energetic (~keV/u) massive products originating from atomic and molecular ion reactions in the electrostatic Cryogenic Storage Ring (CSR). The detector is movable within the cryogenic vacuum chamber of CSR, and was used to measure production rates of a variety of charged and neutral daughter particles. In operation at a temperature of ~6 K, the detector is characterised by a high dynamic range, combining a low dark event rate with good high-rate particle counting capability. On-line measureme…
A compact, highly efficient single-particle counting detector for ions of keV/u kinetic energy, movable by a long-stroke mechanical translation stage, has been developed at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, MPIK). Both, detector and translation mechanics, can operate at ambient temperatures down to $\sim$ 10 K and consist fully of ultra-high vacuum (UHV) compatible, high-temperature bakeable and non-magnetic materials. The set-up is designed to meet the technical demands of MPIK's Cryogenic Storage Ring (CSR). We present a series of functional te…
The development of sensitive cryogenic light detectors is of primary interest for bolometric experiments searching for rare events like dark matter interactions or neutrino-less double beta decay. Thanks to their good energy resolution and the natural multiplexed read-out, Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) are particularly suitable for this purpose. To efficiently couple KIDs-based light detectors to the large crystals used by the most advanced bolometric detectors, active surfaces of several cm$^2$ are needed. For this reason, we are developing phonon-mediated detectors. In this paper we pr…
The energy calibration of nuclear recoil detectors is of primary importance to rare-event experiments such as those of direct dark matter search and coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering. In particular, such a calibration is performed by measuring the ionization yield of nuclear recoils in liquid Ar and Xe detection media, using neutron elastic scattering off nuclei. In the present work, the ionization yield for nuclear recoils in liquid Ar has for the first time been measured in the higher energy range, at 80 and 233 keV, using a two-phase Cryogenic Avalanche Detector (CRAD) and DD neutron gen…
An active discrimination of the dominant $α$-background is the prerequisite for future neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments based on TeO$_{2}$ bolometers. We investigate such $α$-particle rejection in cryogenic TeO$_{2}$ bolometers by the detection of Cherenkov light. For a setup consisting of a massive TeO$_{2}$ crystal (285 g) and a separate cryogenic light detector, both using transition edge sensors as temperature sensors operated at around 10 mK, we obtain an event-by-event identification of e/$γ$- and $α$-events. We find in the energy interval ranging from 2400 keV to 2800 keV and …
Exploring the keV-scale physics potential of CUORE
University of South Carolina（南卡罗来纳大学）；Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University（弗吉尼亚理工大学）；Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室）；INFN – Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro（意大利国家核物理研究所-莱尼亚罗国家实验室）；INFN – Sezione di Bologna（意大利国家核物理研究所-博洛尼部分部）；Sapienza Università di Roma（罗马第一大学）；INFN – Sezione di Roma（意大利国家核物理研究所-罗马分部）；Gran Sasso Science Institute（格兰萨索科学研究所）；INFN – Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso（意大利国家核物理研究所-格兰萨索国家实验室）；Università di Milano-Bicocca（米兰比可卡大学）；INFN – Sezione di Milano（意大利国家核物理研究所-米兰分部）；INFN – Sezione di Milano Bicocca（意大利国家核物理研究所-米兰比可卡分部）
RES-NOVA is a newly proposed experiment for the detection of neutrinos from astrophysical sources, mainly Supernovae, using an array of cryogenic detectors made of PbWO$_4$ crystals produced from archaeological Pb. This unconventional material, characterized by intrinsic high radiopurity, enables to achieve low-background levels in the region of interest for the neutrino detection via Coherent Elastic neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CE$ν$NS). This signal lies at the detector energy threshold, O(1 keV), and it is expected to be hidden by naturally occurring radioactive contaminants of the crystal …
We describe a novel method to use a scintillating fiber detector similar to the Fast Annihilation Cryogenic Tracking (FACT) used at the antimatter experiment AEgIS to monitor the presence of ortho-positronium. A single scintillating fiber was coupled to a photomultiplier tube and irradiated by flashes of about $6\cdot10^6$ $511\,\text{keV}$ $γ$-rays produced by $\approx10\,\text{ns}$ long positron pulses. The results were used to demonstrate the ability to track the creation and annihilation of ortho-positronium atoms over time in cryogenic and highly magnetic environments by using the FACT de…
We have developed a contact-less technique for the real time measurement of a-thermal (Cooper-pair breaking) phonons in an absorber held at sub-Kelvin temperatures. In particular, a thin-film aluminum superconducting resonator was realized on a 30-grams high-resistivity silicon crystal. The lumped-element resonator is inductively excited/read-out by a radio-frequency microstrip feed-line deposited on another wafer; the sensor, a Kinetic Inductance Detector (KID), is read-out without any physical contact or wiring to the absorber. The resonator demonstrates excellent electrical properties, part…
Experiments seeking to detect rare event interactions such as dark matter or coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering are striving for large mass detectors with very low detection threshold. Using Neganov-Luke phonon amplification effect, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment is reaching unprecedented RMS resolutions of ~ 14 eV$_{ee}$ . CDMSlite is currently the most sensitive experiment to WIMPs of mass $\sim$5 GeV/c$^{2}$ but is limited in achieving higher phonon gains due to an early onset of leakage current into Ge crystals. The contact interface geometry is particularly w…
The development of wide-area cryogenic light detectors with baseline energy resolution lower than 20 eV RMS is essential for next generation bolometric experiments searching for rare interactions. Indeed the simultaneous readout of the light and heat signals will enable background suppression through particle identification. Because of their excellent intrinsic energy resolution, as well as their well-established reproducibility, Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) are good candidates for the development of next generation light detectors. The CALDER project is investigating the potential of p…
We have systematically investigated the energy resolution of a magnetic micro-calorimeter (MMC) for atomic and molecular projectiles at impact energies ranging from $E\approx13$ to 150 keV. For atoms we obtained absolute energy resolutions down to $ΔE \approx 120$ eV and relative energy resolutions down to $ΔE/E\approx10^{-3}$. We also studied in detail the MMC energy-response function to molecular projectiles of up to mass 56 u. We have demonstrated the capability of identifying neutral fragmentation products of these molecules by calorimetric mass spectrometry. We have modeled the MMC energy…
The development of wide-area cryogenic light detectors with good energy resolution is one of the priorities of next generation bolometric experiments searching for rare interactions, as the simultaneous read-out of the light and heat signals enables background suppression through particle identification. Among the proposed technological approaches for the phonon sensor, the naturally-multiplexed Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) stand out for their excellent intrinsic energy resolution and reproducibility. To satisfy the large surface requirement (several cm$^2$) KIDs are deposited on an ins…
Providing a background discrimination tool is crucial for enhancing the sensitivity of next-generation experiments searching for neutrinoless double- beta decay. The development of high-sensitivity (< 20 eV RMS) cryogenic light detectors allows simultaneous read-out of the light and heat signals and enables background suppression through particle identification. The Cryogenic wide- Area Light Detector with Excellent Resolution (CALDER) R&D already proved the potential of this technique using the phonon-mediated Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) approach. The first array prototype with 4 Alum…
A new generation of cryogenic light detectors exploiting Neganov-Luke effect to enhance the thermal signal has been used to detect the Cherenkov light emitted by the electrons interacting in TeO$_{2}$ crystals. With this mechanism a high significance event-by-event discrimination between alpha and beta/gamma interactions at the $^{130}$Te neutrino-less double beta decay Q-value - (2527.515 $\pm$ 0.013) keV - has been demonstrated. This measurement opens the possibility of drastically reducing the background in cryogenic experiments based on TeO$_{2}$.
Detection of sub-GeV dark matter candidates requires sub-keV detector thresholds on deposited energy. We provide an update on a gram-scale phonon-mediated KID-based device that was designed for a dark matter search in this mass range at the Northwestern Experimental Underground Site. Currently, the device is demonstrating 6 eV resolution on the energy absorbed by the resonator. With some important assumptions, this translates to 20 eV baseline resolution on energy deposited in the substrate. We show that TLS noise dominates this energy resolution estimate. After modifying the design to mitigat…
XeBRA is a flexible cryogenic platform designed to perform research and development for liquid xenon detectors searching for rare events. Its extra-large outer cryostat makes it possible to install a wide variety of detector designs. We present the system, including its cryogenic, gas handling, data acquisition and slow control subsystems. Two dual phase time projection chambers with sensitive masses at the 1 kg scale have so far been operated in XeBRA. Using data from these, we determine the field-dependence of the electron drift velocity in liquid xenon. We also measure the relative charge a…
