Ion‐implanted charge collection contacts for high purity silicon detectors operated at 20 mK

We have developed a technique for fabricating high resolution, ohmic contacts for cryogenic silicon detectors operated at temperatures well below 1 K. In this paper, we give a detailed description of the techniques used to fabricate these boron‐implanted contacts, and present characterization data obtained on 24 test samples studied during the design phase of our program. We then describe the fabrication and operation of a 23 g prototype silicon hybrid detector which simultaneously senses both the phonons and ionization produced by a single event, and which incorporates these new contacts into its design. Finally, we present data obtained using a radioactive source of 241Am and this detector operated at 20 mK, and conclude that the contacts are fully sufficient for applications in particle astrophysics as well as in many other areas of physics

Observation of ballistic phonons in silicon crystals induced by α particles

We have observed the ballistic-phonon-focusing pattern along the [100] axis of a 1-mm-thick silicon crystal using α-particle bombardment as the phonon source. These experiments on phonon-mediated particle detection are performed in vacuum at about 400 mK and use titanium-superconducting-transition-edge phonon sensors on the crystal surfaces. The ballistic time of flight is confirmed in one experiment and the focusing patterns are spatially resolved in another. These data indicate that about 1/3 of the phonon energy striking the back face during the first μsec is ballistic

Improving reading comprehension through the formation of mental images

This literature review explores recent research to support the hypothesis that training students to form mental images will facilitate comprehension and enable the reader to find more enjoyment while engaged in the reading process. There is a relationship between forming mental images and age. Beginning readers need illustrations to enhance comprehension; however, by the third grade level many students are able to improve their comprehension when instructed in forming mental images. Among poor comprehenders mental imagery was shown to be effective as a memory and comprehension device. The findings of this review suggest to educators that the training of self-generated mental imagery should be given greater importance in the elementary school curriculum

Quasiparticle Trapping in Microwave Kinetic Inductance Strip Detectors

Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) are thin-film, superconducting resonators, which are attractive for making large detector arrays due to their natural frequency domain multiplexing at GHz frequencies. For X-ray to IR wavelengths, MKIDs can provide high-resolution energy and timing information for each incoming photon. By fabricating strip detectors consisting of a rectangular absorber coupled to MKIDs at each end, high quantum efficiency and spatial resolution can be obtained. A similar geometry is being pursued for phonon sensing in a WIMP dark matter detector. Various materials have been tested including tantalum, tin, and aluminum for the absorbing strip, and aluminum, titanium, and aluminum manganese for the MKID. Initial Ta/Al X-ray devices have shown energy resolutions as good as 62 eV at 6 keV. A Ta/Al UV strip detector with an energy resolution of 0.8 eV at 4.9 eV has been demonstrated, but we find the coupling of the MKIDs to the absorbers is unreliable for these thinner devices. We report on progress probing the thicknesses at which the absorber/MKID coupling begins to degrade by using a resonator to inject quasiparticles directly into the absorber. In order to eliminate the absorber/MKID interface, a modified design for implanted AlMn/Al UV strip detectors was developed, and results showing good transmission of quasiparticles from the absorber to MKID in these devices are presented

Energy Deposition of Energetic Silicon Atoms Within a Silicon Lattice

The energy dependence of the ionization produced in silicon by recoiling silicon atoms was measured in the 4–54-keV energy interval. It is found that the fraction of the recoil energy that is dissipated as ionization follows an E1/2 dependence which agrees well with the predictions of the theory of Lindhard et al. [Mat. Fys. Medd. 33, 10 (1963)]

The low-temperature energy calibration system for the CUORE bolometer array

The CUORE experiment will search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0nDBD) of 130Te using an array of 988 TeO_2 bolometers operated at 10 mK in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy). The detector is housed in a large cryogen-free cryostat cooled by pulse tubes and a high-power dilution refrigerator. The TeO_2 bolometers measure the event energies, and a precise and reliable energy calibration is critical for the successful identification of candidate 0nDBD and background events. The detector calibration system under development is based on the insertion of 12 gamma-sources that are able to move under their own weight through a set of guide tubes that route them from deployment boxes on the 300K flange down into position in the detector region inside the cryostat. The CUORE experiment poses stringent requirements on the maximum heat load on the cryostat, material radiopurity, contamination risk and the ability to fully retract the sources during normal data taking. Together with the integration into a unique cryostat, this requires careful design and unconventional solutions. We present the design, challenges, and expected performance of this low-temperature energy calibration system.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of the 13th International Workshop on Low Temperature Detectors (LTD), Stanford, CA, July 20-24, 200

A Quasiparticle Trap Assisted Transition Edge Sensor for Phonon Mediated Particle Detection

ABSTRACT We have demonstrated the operation of composite superconducting tungsten and aluminum transition‐edge sensors which take advantage of quasiparticle trapping and electrothermal feedback. We call these devices W/Al QETs (quasiparticle‐trap‐assisted electrothermal feedback transition‐edge sensors). The quasiparticle trapping mechanism makes it possible to instrument large surface areas without increasing sensor heat capacity, thus allowing larger absorbers and reducing phonon collection times. The sensor consists of a 30‐nm‐thick superconducting tungsten thin film with Tc∼80 mK deposited on a high‐purity silicon substrate. The W film is patterned into 200 parallel lines segments, each 2 μm wide and 800 μm long. Eight superconducting aluminum thin film pads are electrically connected to each segment, and cover a much larger surface area than the W. When phonons from particle interactions in the silicon crystal impinge on an aluminum pad, Cooper pairs are broken, forming quasiparticles which diffuse to the tungsten lines where they are rapidly thermalized. The W film is voltage biased, and self‐regulates in temperature within its superconducting transition region by electrothermal feedback. Heat deposited in the film causes a current pulse of ∼100 μs duration, which is measured with a series array of dc superconducting quantum interference devices. We have demonstrated an energy resolution of half‐maximum for 6 keV x rays incident on the backside of a 1 cm×1 cm×1 mm (0.25 g) silicon absorber, the highest resolution that has been reported for a fast (duration) calorimetric detector with an absorber mass≳0.1 g. Applications of this technology include dark matter searches and neutrino detection

The Superconducting Quasiparticle-Amplifying Transmon: A Qubit-Based Sensor for meV Scale Phonons and Single THz Photons

With great interest from the quantum computing community, an immense amount of R&D effort has been invested into improving superconducting qubits. The technologies developed for the design and fabrication of these qubits can be directly applied to applications for ultra-low threshold particle detectors, e.g. low-mass dark matter and far-IR photon sensing. We propose a novel sensor based on the transmon qubit architecture combined with a signal-enhancing superconducting quasiparticle amplification stage. We refer to these sensors as SQUATs: Superconducting Quasiparticle-Amplifying Transmons. We detail the operating principle and design of this new sensor and predict that with minimal R&D effort, solid-state based detectors patterned with these sensors can achieve sensitivity to single THz photons, and sensitivity to $1\,\mathrm{meV}$ phonons in the detector absorber substrate on the $\mu\mathrm{s}$ timescale.Comment: 6 pages main, 8 pages appendix, 12 figures. Added new appendix on signal and readout bandwidth. Submitted to PR

The Electronic Controls Used in a Search For Fractional Charges in Mercury Drops

At San Francisco State University, we have developed an Automatic Millikan Device (AMI)) for measuring the charge on small drops of Mercury. The device uses a standard atomic physics laboratory Millikan chamber, a piezoelectric driven ink-jet glass dropper, and a laser-photomultiplier system for tracking the motion of the drop. This paper describes the electronic control and error detection system used with the AMO. Signals from this system are sent to a microprocessor which controls the experiment. To this date (Dec 7, 1981), we have measured 175 micrograms of Hg and found no fractional charges in 1.05 x 1020 nucleons

Charge collection and trapping in low‐temperature silicon detectors

Charge collection efficiency measurements in silicon detectors at low temperature (T \u3c 0.5 K) and low applied electric field (E=0.1–100 V/cm) were performed using a variety of high‐purity, p‐type silicon samples with room‐temperature resistivity in the range 2–40 kΩ cm. Good charge collection under these conditions of low temperature and low electric field is necessary for background suppression, through the simultaneous measurement of phonons and ionization, in a very low event rate dark matter search or neutrino physics experiment. Charge loss due to trapping during drift is present in some samples, but the data suggest that another charge–loss mechanism is also important. We present results which indicate that, for 60 keV energy depositions, a significant fraction of the total charge loss by trapping occurs in the initial electron‐hole cloud near the event location which may briefly act as a shielded, field‐free region. In addition, measurements of the lateral size, transverse to the applied electric field, of the initial electron‐hole cloud indicate large transverse diffusion lengths. At the lowest fields a lateral diameter on the order of 1 mm is found in a detector ∼5 mm thick