Transition-edge sensor: Difference between revisions

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==History==

The first demonstrations of the superconducting transition's measurement potential appeared in the 1940s, 30 years after [[Heike Kamerlingh Onnes|Onnes]]'s discovery of [[superconductivity]]. D. H. Andrews demonstrated the first transition-edge [[bolometer]], a current-biased [[tantalum]] wire which he used to measure an infrared signal. Subsequently he demonstrated a transition-edge [[Calorimeter (particle physics)|calorimeter]] made of [[niobium nitride]] which was used to measure [[alpha particles]].<ref>D. H. Andrews ''et al.'', "Attenuated superconductors I. For measuring infra-red radiation". ''Rev. Sci. Instrum.'', '''13''', 281 (1942), {{doi|10.1063/1.1770037}}.</ref> However, the TES detector did not gain popularity for about 50 years, due primarily to the difficulty ofin signalstabilizing readoutthe fromtemperature suchwithin athe low-[[Electricalnarrow impedance|impedance]]superconducting system.transition Aregion, secondespecially obstaclewhen tomore thethan adoptionone ofpixel TESwas detectorsoperated wasat inthe achievingsame stabletime, operationand inalso due to the narrowdifficulty superconductingof transitionsignal regionreadout from such a low-[[Electrical impedance|impedance]] system. [[Joule heating]] in a current-biased TES can lead to [[thermal runaway]] that drives the detector into the normal (non-superconducting) state, a phenomenon known as positive [[electrothermal feedback]]. The thermal runaway problem was solved in 1995 by K. D. Irwin by voltage-biasing the TES, establishing stable negative [[electrothermal feedback]], and coupling them to superconducting quantum interference devices ([[SQUID]]) current amplifiers.<ref>K. D. Irwin, "An application of electrothermal feedback for high resolution cryogenic particle detection". ''Appl. Phys. Lett.'', '''66''', 1998 (1995), {{doi|10.1063/1.113674}}.</ref> This breakthrough has led to widespread adoption of TES detectors.<ref name="IrwinHilton">K. D. Irwin and G. C. Hilton, "Transition-edge sensors", ''Cryogenic Particle Detection'', ed. C. Enss, Springer (2005), {{doi|10.1007/10933596_3}}.</ref>

==Setup, operation, and readout==

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TES detectors are attractive to the scientific community for a variety of reasons. Among their most striking attributes are an unprecedented high detection efficiency customizable to wavelengths from the millimeter regime to gamma rays<ref name=IrwinHilton /><ref name=NIST /> and a theoretical negligible background dark count level (less than 1 event in 1000 s from intrinsic [[Phonon noise|thermal fluctuations]] of the device<ref name=NIST2 />). (In practice, although only a real energy signal will create a current pulse, a nonzero background level may be registered by the counting algorithm or the presence of background light in the experimental setup. Even thermal [[blackbody radiation]] may be seen by a TES optimized for use in the visible regime.)

TES single-photon detectors suffer nonetheless from a few disadvantages as compared to their [[Single-photon avalanche diode|avalanche photodiode]] (APD) counterparts. APDs are manufactured in small modules, which count photons out-of-the-box with a [[dead time]] of a few nanoseconds and output a TTL pulse corresponding to each photon with a [[jitter]] of tens of picoseconds. In contrast, TES detectors must be operated in a cryogenic environment, output a signal that must be further analyzed to identify photons, and have a jitter of approximately 100 ns.<ref name=NIST /> Furthermore, a single-photon spike on a TES detector lasts on the order of microseconds.

==Applications==

TES arrays are becoming increasingly common in physics and astronomy experiments such as [[James Clerk Maxwell Telescope#SCUBA-2|SCUBA-2]], the HAWC+ instrument on the [[Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy]], the [[Atacama Cosmology Telescope]], the [[Cryogenic Dark Matter Search]], the [[Cryogenic Observatory for Signatures Seen in Next-Generation Underground Searches]], the [[Cryogenic Rare Event Search with Superconducting Thermometers]], [[the E and B Experiment]], the [[South Pole Telescope]], the [[Spider (polarimeter)|Spider polarimeter]] and, the X-IFU instrument of the [[Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics]] satellite, the future [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10909-019-02329-w LiteBIRD] [[Cosmic microwave background|Cosmic Microwave Background]] polarization experiment, the [[Simons Observatory]], and the CMB Stage-IV Experiment.

==See also==

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==References==

{{reflist}}

{{Sensors}}

[[Category:Superconducting detectors]]

[[Category:Radiometry]]