Description
Superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) radiation detectors combine the high energy resolution of low-temperature operation with the high speed of athermal non-equilibrium devices. They utilize the small superconducting energy gap (~1 meV) to achieve an energy resolution of a few eV FWHM for energies below 1 keV. Furthermore, the short signal charge life time (~10s of µs) enables rates of several 1000 counts/s per detector pixel, placing them among the fastest quantum detection technologies. We have recently started a program to adapt STJs to search for sterile neutrinos with unprecedented sensitivity. We will discuss the basic physics of STJ radiation detectors, their operation at temperatures of ~0.1 K and recent applications in nuclear science. These include accurate measurements of ultra-low energy nuclear transitions for the development of nuclear clocks, L/K branching ratios in the electron capture decay of Be-7 and beyond Standard Model physics searches.
| Funding information | This work was funded by LLNL through the LDRD grant 20-LW-006 |
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