159 research outputs found
Effect of annealing on the superconducting properties of a-Nb(x)Si(1-x) thin films
a-Nb(x)Si(1-x) thin films with thicknesses down to 25 {\AA} have been
structurally characterized by TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy)
measurements. As-deposited or annealed films are shown to be continuous and
homogeneous in composition and thickness, up to an annealing temperature of
500{\deg}C. We have carried out low temperature transport measurements on these
films close to the superconductor-to-insulator transition (SIT), and shown a
qualitative difference between the effect of annealing or composition, and a
reduction of the film thickness on the superconducting properties of a-NbSi.
These results question the pertinence of the sheet resistance R_square as the
relevant parameter to describe the SIT.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figure
Tunable Superconducting Properties of a-NbSi Thin Films and Application to Detection in Astrophysics
We report on the superconducting properties of amorphous NbxSi1-x thin films.
The normal-state resistance and critical temperatures can be separately
adjusted to suit the desired application. Notably, the relatively low
electron-phonon coupling of these films makes them good candidates for an "all
electron bolometer" for Cosmological Microwave Background radiation detection.
Moreover, this device can be made to suit both high and low impedance readouts
Observation of the Nernst signal generated by fluctuating Cooper pairs
Long-range order is destroyed in a superconductor warmed above its critical
temperature (Tc). However, amplitude fluctuations of the superconducting order
parameter survive and lead to a number of well established phenomena such as
paraconductivity : an excess of charge conductivity due to the presence of
short-lived Cooper pairs in the normal state. According to an untested theory,
these pairs generate a transverse thermoelectric (Nernst) signal. In amorphous
superconducting films, the lifetime of Cooper pairs exceeds the elastic
lifetime of quasi-particles in a wide temperature range above Tc; consequently,
the Cooper pairs Nernst signal dominate the response of the normal electrons
well above Tc. In two dimensions, the magnitude of the expected signal depends
only on universal constants and the superconducting coherence length, so the
theory can be unambiguously tested. Here, we report on the observation of a
Nernst signal in such a superconductor traced deep into the normal state. Since
the amplitude of this signal is in excellent agreement with the theoretical
prediction, the result provides the first unambiguous case for a Nernst effect
produced by short-lived Cooper pairs
Axion searches with the EDELWEISS-II experiment
We present new constraints on the couplings of axions and more generic
axion-like particles using data from the EDELWEISS-II experiment. The EDELWEISS
experiment, located at the Underground Laboratory of Modane, primarily aims at
the direct detection of WIMPs using germanium bolometers. It is also sensitive
to the low-energy electron recoils that would be induced by solar or dark
matter axions. Using a total exposure of up to 448 kg.d, we searched for
axion-induced electron recoils down to 2.5 keV within four scenarios involving
different hypotheses on the origin and couplings of axions. We set a 95% CL
limit on the coupling to photons GeV in
a mass range not fully covered by axion helioscopes. We also constrain the
coupling to electrons, , similar to the more
indirect solar neutrino bound. Finally we place a limit on , where is the
effective axion-nucleon coupling for Fe. Combining these results we
fully exclude the mass range keV for DFSZ axions and
keV for KSVZ axions
Proceedings of the third French-Ukrainian workshop on the instrumentation developments for HEP
The reports collected in these proceedings have been presented in the third
French-Ukrainian workshop on the instrumentation developments for high-energy
physics held at LAL, Orsay on October 15-16. The workshop was conducted in the
scope of the IDEATE International Associated Laboratory (LIA). Joint
developments between French and Ukrainian laboratories and universities as well
as new proposals have been discussed. The main topics of the papers presented
in the Proceedings are developments for accelerator and beam monitoring,
detector developments, joint developments for large-scale high-energy and
astroparticle physics projects, medical applications.Comment: 3rd French-Ukrainian workshop on the instrumentation developments for
High Energy Physics, October 15-16, 2015, LAL, Orsay, France, 94 page
A new high-background-rejection dark matter Ge cryogenic detector
A new design of a cryogenic germanium detector for dark matter search is
presented, taking advantage of the coplanar grid technique of event
localisation for improved background discrimination. Experiments performed with
prototype devices in the EDELWEISS II setup at the Modane underground facility
demonstrate the remarkably high efficiency of these devices for the rejection
of low-energy , approaching 10 . This opens the road to investigate
the range beyond 10 pb in the WIMP-nucleon collision cross-sections, as
proposed in the EURECA project of a one-ton cryogenic detector mass.Comment: submitted to Physical Review Letter
LiMoO Scintillating Bolometers for Rare-Event Search Experiments
We report on the development of scintillating bolometers based on lithium
molybdate crystals containing molybdenum depleted in the double- active
isotope Mo (LiMoO). We used two
LiMoO cubic samples, 45 mm side and 0.28 kg each,
produced following purification and crystallization protocols developed for
double- search experiments with Mo-enriched LiMoO
crystals. Bolometric Ge detectors were utilized to register scintillation
photons emitted by the LiMoO crystal
scintillators. The measurements were performed in the CROSS cryogenic set-up at
the Canfranc underground laboratory (Spain). We observed that the
LiMoO scintillating bolometers are characterized
by excellent spectrometric performance (3--6 keV FWHM at 0.24--2.6 MeV
's), moderate scintillation signal (0.3--0.6 keV/MeV depending on
light collection conditions) and high radiopurity (Th and Ra
activities are below a few Bq/kg), comparable to the best reported results
of low-temperature detectors based on LiMoO with natural or
Mo-enriched molybdenum content. Prospects of
LiMoO bolometers for use in rare-event search
experiments are briefly discussed.Comment: Prepared for submission to MDPI Sensors; 16 pages, 7 figures, and 3
table
Purification of molybdenum oxide, growth and characterization of medium size zinc molybdate crystals for the LUMINEU program
The LUMINEU program aims at performing a pilot experiment on neutrinoless
double beta decay of 100Mo using radiopure ZnMoO4 crystals operated as
scintillating bolometers. Growth of high quality radiopure crystals is a
complex task, since there are no commercially available molybdenum compounds
with the required levels of purity and radioactive contamination. This paper
discusses approaches to purify molybdenum and synthesize compound for high
quality radiopure ZnMoO4 crystal growth. A combination of a double sublimation
(with addition of zinc molybdate) with subsequent recrystallization in aqueous
solutions (using zinc molybdate as a collector) was used. Zinc molybdate
crystals up to 1.5 kg were grown by the low-thermal-gradient Czochralski
technique, their optical, luminescent, diamagnetic, thermal and bolometric
properties were tested.Comment: Contribution to Proc. of Int. Workshop on Radiopure Scintillators
RPSCINT 2013, 17-20 September 2013, Kyiv, Ukraine; to be published in EPJ Web
of Conferences; expected to be online in January 2014; 6 pages, 6 figures,
and 3 table
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