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Register a new userTransition-Edge Sensors for Particle Induced X-ray Emission Measurements
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In this paper we present a new measurement setup, where a transitionedge sensor detector array is used to detect X-rays in particle induced X-ray emission measurements with a 2 MeV proton beam. Transition-edge sensors offer orders of magnitude improvement in energy resolution compared to conventional silicon or germanium detectors, making it possible to recognize spectral lines in materials analysis that have previously been impossible to resolve, and to get chemical information from the elements. Our sensors are cooled to the operation temperature (65 mK) with a cryogen-free adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator, which houses a specially designed X-ray snout that has a vacuum tight window to couple in the radiation. For the best pixel, the measured instrumental energy resolution was 3.06 eV full width at half maximum at 5.9 keV.We discuss the current status of the project, benefits of transition-edge sensors when used in particle induced X-ray emission spectroscopy, and the results from the first measurements.
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At Argonne National Laboratory, we are developing hard X-ray (2 to 20 keV) Transition Edge Sensor (TES) arrays for beamline science. The significantly improved energy resolution provided by superconducting detectors compared to semiconductor-based energy-dispersive detectors, but with better collection efficiency than wavelength-dispersive instruments, will enable greatly improved X-ray emission and absorption spectroscopic measurements. A prototype instrument with 24 microwave-frequency multiplexed pixels is now in testing at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) 1-BM beamline. Initial measurements show an energy resolution ten times better (150 eV compared to < 15 eV) than the silicon-drift detectors currently available to APS beamline users, and in particular demonstrate the ability to resolve closely-spaced emission lines in samples containing multiple transition metal elements, such as integrated circuits. Comparing fluorescence spectra of integrated circuits measured with our TESs at the beamline to those measured with silicon detectors, we find emission lines and elements largely hidden (e.g. Hf alongside Cu) from a semiconductor-based detector but well resolved by a TES. This directly shows the strengths of TES-based instruments in fluorescence mapping.
We report initial measurements on our firstMoAu Transition Edge Sensors (TESs). The TESs formed from a bilayer of 40 nm of Mo and 106 nm of Au showed transition temperatures of about 320 mK, higher than identical TESs with a MoCu bilayer which is consistent with a reduced electron transmission coefficient between the bilayer films. We report measurements of thermal conductance in the 200 nm thick silicon nitride SiNx support structures at this temperature, TES dynamic behaviour and current noise measurements.
Transition Edge Sensors are ultra-sensitive superconducting detectors with applications in many areas of research, including astrophysics. The device consists of a superconducting thin film, often with additional normal metal features, held close to its transition temperature and connected to two superconducting leads of a higher transition temperature. There is currently no way to reliably assess the performance of a particular device geometry or material composition without making and testing the device. We have developed a proximity effect model based on the Usadel equations to predict the effects of device geometry and material composition on sensor performance. The model is successful in reproducing I-V curves for two devices currently under study. We use the model to suggest the optimal size and geometry for TESs, considering how small the devices can be made before their performance is compromised. In the future, device modelling prior to manufacture will reduce the need for time-consuming and expensive testing.
We show the proof-of-principle detection of light at 1550 nm coupled evanescently from a titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguide to a superconducting transition edge sensor. The coupling efficiency strongly depends on the polarization, the overlap between the evanescent field, and the detector structure. We experimentally demonstrate polarization sensitivity of this coupling as well as photon-number resolution of the integrated detector. The combination of transition edge sensors and lithium niobate waveguides can open the field for a variety of new quantum optics experiments.
We are developing large TES arrays in combination with FDM readout for the next generation of X-ray space observatories. For operation under AC-bias, the TESs have to be carefully designed and optimized. In particular, the use of high aspect ratio devices will help to mitigate non-ideal behaviour due to the weak-link effect. In this paper, we present a full characterization of a TES array containing five different device geometries, with aspect ratios (width:length) ranging from 1:2 up to 1:6. The complex impedance of all geometries is measured in different bias configurations to study the evolution of the small-signal limit superconducting transition parameters, as well as the excess noise. We show that high aspect ratio devices with properly tuned critical temperatures (around 90 mK) can achieve excellent energy resolution, with an array average of 2.03 +- 0.17 eV at 5.9 keV and a best achieved resolution of 1.63 +- 0.17 eV. This demonstrates that AC-biased TESs can achieve a very competitive performance compared to DC-biased TESs. The results have motivated a push to even more extreme device geometries currently in development.
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