Phonon sensor dynamics for cryogenic dark matter search experiment : a study of quasiparticle transport in aluminum coupled to tungsten transition edge sensors
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Understanding the quasiparticle diffusion process inside sputtered aluminum (Al) thin films (∼ 0.1-1 μm) is critical for the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment to further optimize its detectors to directly search for dark matter. An initial study with Al films was undertaken by our group ∼ 20 years ago, but some important questions were not answered at the time. This thesis can be considered a continuation of that critical study. The CDMS experiment utilizes high purity silicon and germanium crystals to simultaneously measure ionization and phonons created by particle interactions. In addition to describing some of the rich physics involved in simultaneously detecting ionization and phonons with a CDMS detector, this thesis focuses on the detailed physics of the phonon sensors themselves, which are patterned onto CDMS detector surfaces. CDMS detectors use thin sputtered Al films to collect phonon energy when it propagates to the surfaces of the detector crystals. The phonon energy breaks Cooper pairs and creates quasiparticles (qps). These qps diffuse until they get trapped in an proximitized "overlap" region where lower-Tc tungsten films connect to the Al film. These tungsten films are the transition edge sensors (W-TESs) CDMS uses to readout phonon signals. We performed a wide range of experiments using several sets of test devices de- signed and fabricated specifically for this work. The devices were used mostly to study quasiparticle (qp) transport in Al films and qp transmission through Al/W interfaces. The results of this work are being used to optimize the design of detectors for SuperCDMS SNOLAB.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2015 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Yen, Jeffrey Jyh-Chung |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Physics. |
| Primary advisor | Cabrera, Blas |
| Thesis advisor | Cabrera, Blas |
| Thesis advisor | Graham, Peter (Peter Wickelgren) |
| Thesis advisor | Kuo, Chao-Lin |
| Advisor | Graham, Peter (Peter Wickelgren) |
| Advisor | Kuo, Chao-Lin |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Jeffrey Jyh-Chung Yen. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Physics. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2015. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2015 by Jyh-Chung Yen
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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