Energy resolved X-ray detection in Al-Nb proximity layers

The authors report on their initial investigation of the response to 6 keV X-rays of composite aluminium/niobium films forming one side of a superconducting tunnel junction. The non-equilibrium state generated by the X-ray interactions that occur in the thick Nb layer is detected with high-resolution detectors. The choice of a smaller gap superconductor as a probe film permits detection of the phonons generated by quasiparticle trapping from the Nb and enhancement of the initial quasiparticle number.