Superconducting transition-edge sensor
First Claim
1. A particle detector adapted for cryogenic use, comprising:
- a particle absorber; and
a transition-edge sensor thermally coupled with said particle absorber, said transition-edge sensor comprising;
a substrate;
an aluminum/normal-metal bilayer disposed on said substrate, said bilayer comprising a first aluminum layer in contact with a first normal-metal layer, said bilayer having a superconducting state, a normal-conducting state and a transition region therebetween with transition temperature Tc ; and
a means for measuring superconducting transitions within said transition region.
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Abstract
This invention provides a method and apparatus for particle detection utilizing an Al/normal-metal bilayer transition-edge sensor (TES) coupled with a particle absorber. The TES is maintained in the transition region where its properties are extremely sensitive to temperature. In the detector, the energy of an absorbed particle is converted to heat by the absorber and the transition from the bilayer'"'"'s superconducting to normal state is used to sense the temperature rise. The transition temperature, Tc, of the bilayer can be reproducibly controlled as a function of the relative thicknesses and the total thickness of the superconducting and normal-metal layers. The range of available Tc '"'"'s extends from below 50 mK to above 1 K, allowing the detector to be tailored to the application. For x-ray detection the preferred Tc is about 50-150 mK. The width of the transition edge can be less than 0.1 mK, which allows very high detector sensitivity.
41 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A particle detector adapted for cryogenic use, comprising:
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a particle absorber; and a transition-edge sensor thermally coupled with said particle absorber, said transition-edge sensor comprising; a substrate; an aluminum/normal-metal bilayer disposed on said substrate, said bilayer comprising a first aluminum layer in contact with a first normal-metal layer, said bilayer having a superconducting state, a normal-conducting state and a transition region therebetween with transition temperature Tc ; and a means for measuring superconducting transitions within said transition region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of detecting particles, comprising the steps of:
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providing a transition-edge sensor comprising; a substrate; an aluminum/normal-metal bilayer disposed on said substrate, said bilayer comprising a first aluminum layer in contact with a first normal-metal layer, said bilayer having a superconducting state, a normal-conducting state and a transition region therebetween with transition temperature Tc ; and a means for measuring superconducting transitions within said transition region; maintaining the temperature of said bilayer within said transition region; impinging a particle on said bilayer or on a particle absorber coupled with said bilayer; measuring the resulting superconducting transition within said transition region of said bilayer; and detecting said particle from said measured superconducting transition. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A thermometer for measuring temperature changes in an object, comprising:
a transition-edge sensor adapted to be thermally coupled with said object, said transition-edge sensor comprising; a substrate; an aluminum/normal-metal bilayer disposed on said substrate, said bilayer comprising a first aluminum layer in contact with a first normal-metal layer, said bilayer having a superconducting state, a normal-conducting state and a transition region therebetween with transition temperature Tc ; and a means for measuring temperature changes in said object comprising a means for measuring superconducting transitions within said transition region. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A particle detector adapted for cryogenic use, comprising:
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a transition-edge sensor comprising; a substrate; an aluminum/normal-metal bilayer disposed on said substrate, said bilayer comprising a first aluminum layer in contact with a first normal-metal layer, said bilayer having a superconducting state, a normal-conducting state and a transition region therebetween with transition temperature Tc; and a means for measuring superconducting transitions within said transition region; wherein said substrate is a particle absorber. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. A particle detector adapted for cryogenic use, comprising:
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a transition-edge sensor comprising; a substrate; an aluminum/normal-metal bilayer disposed on said substrate, said bilayer comprising a first aluminum layer in contact with a first normal-metal layer, said bilayer having a superconducting state, a normal-conducting state and a transition region therebetween with transition temperature Tc; and a means for measuring superconducting transitions within said transition region; wherein said bilayer is a particle absorber. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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Specification