SuperCDMS Development Project

This document introduces the "SuperCDMS" project, a phased experimental program which builds on the success of the CDMS II project and extends the direct-detection reach for WIMP dark matter by an additional two orders of magnitude over the next decade. To take full advantage ofthelarger, cleaner detectors we develop for this project, we reduce the cosmogenic neutron level by moving to SNOLab starting in 2009. The increase in sensitivity greatly expands our discovery potential and complements the study of supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider. This proposal to NSF and DOE covers the 4-year development phase of this exciting program, from April 2005 to March 2009. This SuperCDMS Development Project will combine the technical preparation for the SNOLab experiment with continued running of CDMS detectors at our Soudan facility together with six new SuperCDMS detectors. Our technical development will include the fabrication of detectors which are 2.5 times more massive than the CDMS II detectors with improved rejection capability and decreased surface backgrounds. We will also develop more efficient detector production methods and design the necessary cryogenic, electronic and data acquisition systems. This work will lay the foundation for SuperCDMS Phase A and SuperCDMS Phase B, experiments at SNOLab deploying 25-kg and 150-kg of Ge target masses, and running in 2009-2011 and 2012-2014, respectively. The SuperCDMS Development Project deliverables include the Conceptual and Technical Design Reports for these two phases. basis for their eventual approval.