Measurement of quasiparticle transport in aluminum films using tungsten transition-edge sensors

Journal Article · Mon Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4899130· OSTI ID:22350990

Shank, B.; Cabrera, B.; Moffatt, R.; Redl, P. ^[1]; Young, B. A.; Tortorici, E. C. ^[2]; Brink, P. L.; Cherry, M.; Tomada, A. ^[3]; Kreikebaum, J. M. ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)
2. Department of Physics, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California 95053 (United States)
3. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States)

We report on experimental studies of phonon sensors which utilize quasiparticle diffusion in thin aluminum films connected to tungsten transition-edge-sensors (TESs) operated at 35 mK. We show that basic TES physics and a simple physical model of the overlap region between the W and Al films in our devices enables us to accurately reproduce the experimentally observed pulse shapes from x-rays absorbed in the Al films. We further estimate quasiparticle loss in Al films using a simple diffusion equation approach. These studies allow the design of phonon sensors with improved performance.

• OSTI ID: 22350990
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 16; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ALUMINIUM
DIFFUSION
DIFFUSION EQUATIONS
NEUTRAL-PARTICLE TRANSPORT
PULSE SHAPERS
SENSORS
THIN FILMS
TUNGSTEN
X RADIATION