sub-K detectors characterisation
Following the spurious signals (glitches) observed in the data from the Planck-HFI detectors caused by the impact of cosmic rays, specific research work has been carried out to characterise new-generation of detectors for space environment. At the same time as modelling these effects, the impact of cosmic rays is replicated by irradiating detectors with particles (protons for example) of different energies. Our DRACuLA (Detector irRAdiation Cryogenic faciLity for Astrophysics) cryogenic system makes it possible to carry out this type of measurement on cryogenic detectors and focal planes (typically down to 20mK) by coupling it with a particle accelerator. An initial test campaign took place in September 2022 at ALTO. A second test campaign allowed us to irradiate the first prototype detectors (from NIST) of the LiteBIRD-HFT [5].
This system has been co-funded by CNES, région Ile de France (DIM-ACAV) and Paris-Saclay university (OSUPS).
[1] S.L. Stever et al, A new pulse shape description for α particle pulses in a highly-sensitive sub-Kelvin bolometer, Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 10698, id. 1069863 13 pp. (2018)
[2] R.M.J. Janssen et al, “Commissioning of a common-user test facility to evaluate the effects of high-energy particles on next-generation cryogenic detectors”, Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 10709, id. 107091V 8 pp. (2018)
[3] S.L. Stever et al, “Towards a physical model for energy deposition via cosmic rays into sub-K bolometric detectors”, Journal of Instrumentation, Volume 14, Issue 01, pp. P01012 (2019).
[4] S. L. Stever et al, “Thermal Simulations of Temperature Excursions on the Athena X-IFU Detector Wafer from Impacts by Cosmic Rays”, Journal of Low Temperature Physics, Volume 199, Issue 1-2, p.264-274, 2020
[5] A. Besnard et al, "A cryogenic facility to characterize detector-particle interactions", Proc. SPIE 13102, Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy XII, 131021M (16 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019780
Contacts : Valentin Sauvage, Bruno Maffei