Critical temperature switch development for metallic magnetic calorimeters

We report the recent progress on critical temperature switch development for metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs). The superconducting planar coil of a micro-fabricated MMC is charged with a persistent current, which serves as the stable field current to magnetize the sensor material. Part of the Nb superconducting circuit is fabricated with an alloy of Nb and Ta (NbTa), another superconducting material with a transition temperature (TC) that is lower than that of Nb. A persistent current can be injected into the loop while lowering the temperature from above to below the TC of the NbTa switch. Resistance measurements of a sputtered film of a NbTa alloy with a Ta concentration of 62% showed a clear superconducting transition at 5.29 K. Using one of the completed MMC devices, the ability to use the TC switch for charging with a persistent current up to 120 mA was tested by means of magnetization measurements. The magnetization measurements recorded with a DC-SQUID were in good agreement with the calculated values in all tested cases with four different currents. These results indicate that an MMC can be charged with a persistent current as expected using the TC switch. This work is the first demonstration of the proposed TC switch in a complete MMC setup. Based on the present progress, future studies will investigate multi-channel operation and the development of a hybrid setup with an on-chip heater.

[1]  S. R. Kim,et al.  Status of the AMoRE Experiment Searching for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Using Low-Temperature Detectors , 2018 .

[2]  L. You,et al.  Introduction to the special issue ‘Focus on Low and High-Tc Superconducting Sensors and Detectors’ , 2018 .

[3]  C. Enss,et al.  Physics and Applications of Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters , 2018 .

[4]  U. Kebschull,et al.  The electron capture in 163Ho experiment – ECHo , 2017 .

[5]  S. Friedrich,et al.  Tantalum Passive Persistence Shunts for On-Chip Current Trapping in Metallic Magnetic Calorimetry , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity.

[6]  S. R. Kim,et al.  Novel measurement method of heat and light detection for neutrinoless double beta decay , 2017 .

[7]  S. R. Kim,et al.  Development of Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters with a Critical Temperature Switch , 2016 .

[8]  S. R. Kim,et al.  Development of a scintillation light detector for a cryogenic rare-event-search experiment , 2015 .

[9]  S. R. Kim,et al.  A CaMoO4 Crystal Low Temperature Detector for the AMoRE Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Search , 2015, 1602.07401.

[10]  M. Loidl,et al.  Beta spectrometry with metallic magnetic calorimeters. , 2014, Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine.

[11]  S. Boyd,et al.  Microcalorimeter Magnetic Sensor Geometries Using Superconducting Elements , 2009 .

[12]  C. Enss,et al.  Microstructured Magnetic Calorimeter with Meander-Shaped Pickup Coil , 2008 .

[13]  S. R. Bandler,et al.  Fabrication of Metallic Magnetic Calorimeter X-ray Detector Arrays , 2008 .

[14]  Thomas Wolf,et al.  Metallic magnetic calorimeters , 2009 .

[15]  Y. H. Huang,et al.  Properties of vapor-deposited Au:Er films for metallic magnetic calorimeters , 2005 .

[16]  Christian Enss,et al.  Cryogenic particle detection , 2005 .

[17]  C. Enss,et al.  Metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMC): detectors for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy , 2004 .

[18]  C. Enss.  Magnetic sensors for x-ray and gamma-ray detection , 2002 .

[19]  George M. Seidel,et al.  Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters for Particle Detection , 2000 .

[20]  S. Bandler,et al.  X-ray detection using magnetic calorimeters , 2000 .

[21]  S. Bandler,et al.  Particle detection using cryogenic magnetic calorimeters , 1999 .

[22]  B. Fellmuth,et al.  Investigation of the Superconducting Transition Point of Niobium as a Reference Temperature , 1985 .

[23]  A. Inaba.  Superconductive Transition Point of Tantalum and Niobium as a Reference Temperature , 1980 .

[24]  Qin Lu,et al.  Preface , 1976, Brain Research Bulletin.

[25]  A. Ikushima,et al.  SUPERCONDUCTIVITY IN NIOBIUM AND NIOBIUM--TANTALUM ALLOYS. , 1969 .

[26]  J. M. Corsan,et al.  Electronic specific heat and superconducting properties of Nb-Ta alloys , 1969 .