S. Kempf

Metallic magnetic calorimeters

Metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMC) are calorimetric particle detectors, typically operated at temperatures below 100 mK, that make use of a paramagnetic temperature sensor to transform the temperature rise upon the absorption of a particle in the detector into a measurable magnetic flux change in a dc‐SQUID. During the last years a growing number of groups has started to develop MMC for a wide variety of applications, ranging from alpha‐, beta‐ and gamma‐spectrometry over the spatially resolved detection of accelerated molecule fragments to arrays of high resolution x‐ray detectors. For x‐rays with energies up to 6 keV an energy resolution of 2.7 eV (FWHM) has been demonstrated and we expect that this can be pushed below 1 eV with the next generation of devices. We give an introduction to the physics of MMCs and summarize the presently used readout schemes as well as the typically observed noise contributions and their impact on the energy resolution. We discuss general design considerations, the micro‐fabrication of MMCs and the performance of micro‐fabricated devices. In this field large progress has been achieved in the last years and the thermodynamic properties of most materials approach bulk values allowing for optimal and predictable performance.

Characterization of low temperature metallic magnetic calorimeters having gold absorbers with implanted 163Ho ions

For the first time we have investigated the behavior of fully micro-fabricated low temperature metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs) after undergoing an ion-implantation process. This experiment had the aim to show the possibility to perform a high precision calorimetric measurement of the energy spectrum following the electron capture of 163 Ho using MMCs having the radioactive 163 Ho ions implanted in the absorber. The implantation of 163 Ho ions was performed at ISOLDE-CERN. The performance of a detector that underwent an ion-implantation process is compared to the one of a detector without implanted ions. The results show that the implantation dose of ions used in this experiment does not compromise the properties of the detector. In addition an optimized detector design for future 163 Ho

Multiplexed Readout of MMC Detector Arrays Using Non-hysteretic rf-SQUIDs

Metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs) are widely used for various experiments in fields ranging from atomic and nuclear physics to X-ray spectroscopy, laboratory astrophysics or material science. Whereas in previous experiments single pixel detectors or small arrays have been used, for future applications large arrays are needed. Therefore, suitable multiplexing techniques for MMC arrays are currently under development. A promising approach for the readout of large arrays is the microwave SQUID multiplexer that employs non-hysteretic rf-SQUIDs to create a frequency shift of high

Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters for X-Ray Spectroscopy

Q

Towards FAIR: first measurements of metallic magnetic calorimeters for high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy at GSI

Q resonators that is in accordance with the detector signal and that can be monitored by using standard microwave measurement techniques. In this paper we discuss the design of a recently developed and fabricated 64 pixel detector array with integrated microwave SQUID multiplexer that was produced to test the suitability of this readout technique. The characterization of dc-SQUIDs with virtually identical washer design compared to the rf-SQUIDs of the SQUID multiplexer revealed that the crucial SQUID parameters such as the critical current of the Josephson junctions or the washer inductance are close to the design values and anticipates a successful operation of the SQUID multiplexer.

Reproducibility and calibration of MMC-based high-resolution gamma detectors

We report on the first demonstration of a scalable GHz frequency-domain readout of metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs) using a 64 pixel detector array that is read out by an integrated, on-chip microwave SQUID multiplexer. The detector array is optimized for detecting soft X-ray photons and the multiplexer is designed to provide a signal rise time τrise<400ns and an intrinsic energy sensitivity ϵ<30h. This results in an expected energy resolution ΔEFWHM<10eV. We measured a signal rise time τrise as low as 90ns and an energy resolution ΔEFWHM as low as 50eV for 5.9keV photons. The rise time is about an order of magnitude faster compared to other multiplexed low-temperature microcalorimeters and close to the intrinsic value set by the coupling between electron and spins. The energy resolution is degraded with respect to our design value due to a rather low intrinsic quality factor of the microwave resonators that is caused by the quality of the Josephson junction of the associated rf-SQUID as well as an e...

Direct-current superconducting quantum interference devices for the readout of metallic magnetic calorimeters

An increasing number of experiments employ low-temperature radiation/particle detectors which are based on a calorimetric detection scheme and operate at temperatures below 100 mK. Metallic magnetic calorimeters use a metallic paramagnetic temperature sensor in tight thermal contact with the X-ray absorber. The magnetization of the sensor is used to monitor the temperature change of the detector upon the absorption of single photons, which is proportional to the absorbed energy. Low-noise high-bandwidth dc superconducting quantum interference devices read out the small changes in magnetization. An energy resolution of DeltaE FWHM = 2.7 eV was obtained for X-ray energies up to 6 keV.

Metallic magnetic calorimeters for high precision QED tests at GSI/FAIR

We have systematically investigated the energy resolution of a magnetic micro-calorimeter (MMC) for atomic and molecular projectiles at impact energies ranging from E≈13 to 150 keV. For atoms we obtained absolute energy resolutions down to ΔE≈120 eV and relative energy resolutions down to ΔE/E≈10−3. 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-response function for molecular projectiles and concluded that backscattering is the dominant source of the energy spread at the impact energies investigated. We have successfully demonstrated the use of a detector absorber coating to suppress such spreads. We briefly outline the use of MMC detectors in experiments on gas-phase collision reactions with neutral products. Our findings are of general interest for mass spectrometric techniques, par...