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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

DUNE Phase II: scientific opportunities, detector concepts, technological solutions

The international collaboration designing and constructing the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) has developed a two-phase strategy toward the implementation of this leading-edge, large-scale science project. The 2023 report of the US Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) reaffirmed this vision and strongly endorsed DUNE Phase I and Phase II, as did the European Strategy for Particle Physics. While the construction of the DUNE Phase I is well underway, this White Paper focuses on DUNE Phase II planning. DUNE Phase-II consists of a third and fourth far detector (FD) module, an upgraded near detector complex, and an enhanced 2.1 MW beam. The fourth FD module is conceived as a “Module of Opportunity”, aimed at expanding the physics opportunities, in addition to supporting the core DUNE science program, with more advanced technologies. This document highlights the increased science opportunities offered by the DUNE Phase II near and far detectors, including long-baseline neutrino oscillation physics, neutrino astrophysics, and physics beyond the standard model. It describes the DUNE Phase II near and far detector technologies and detector design concepts that are currently under consideration. A summary of key R&D goals and prototyping phases needed to realize the Phase II detector technical designs is also provided. DUNE's Phase II detectors, along with the increased beam power, will complete the full scope of DUNE, enabling a multi-decadal program of groundbreaking science with neutrinos.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Abatement of ionizing radiation for superconducting quantum devices

Ionizing radiation has been shown to reduce the performance of superconducting quantum circuits. In this report, we evaluate the expected contributions of different sources of ambient radioactivity for typical superconducting qubit experiment platforms. Our assessment of radioactivity inside a typical cryostat highlights the importance of selecting appropriate materials for the experiment components nearest to qubit devices, such as packaging and electrical interconnects. We present a shallow underground facility (30-meter water equivalent) to reduce the flux of cosmic rays and a lead shielded cryostat to abate the naturally occurring radiogenic gamma-ray flux in the laboratory environment. We predict that superconducting qubit devices operated in this facility could experience a reduced rate of correlated multi-qubit errors by a factor of approximately 20 relative to the rate in a typical above-ground, unshielded facility. Finally, we outline overall design improvements that would be required to further reduce the residual ionizing radiation rate, down to the limit of current generation direct detection dark matter experiments.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Characterization of Silicon Photomultiplier Photon Detection Efficiency at Liquid Nitrogen Temperature

The detection of individual photons at cryogenic temperatures is of interest to many experiments searching for physics beyond the Standard Model. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are often deployed in liquid argon or liquid xenon to detect scintillation light either directly or after it has been wavelength-shifted. Maximizing the photon detection efficiency (PDE) of the SiPMs used in these experiments optimizes the sensitivity to new physics; however, the PDEs of commercial SiPMs, although well known at room temperature, are not well characterized at the cryogenic temperatures at which many experiments operate them. Here we present results from an experimental setup that measures the photon detection efficiencies of silicon photomultipliers at liquid nitrogen temperature, 77 K. Results from a KETEK PM3325-WB-D0 and a Hamamatsu S13360-3050CS silicon photomultiplier — of R&D interest to the LEGEND experiment — exhibit a decrease in photon detection efficiency greater than 20% at liquid nitrogen temperature relative to room temperature for 562 nm light.

Cryogenic detectors↗
DOE OSTI2025

High energy particle detection with large area superconducting microwire array

We present the first detailed study of an 8-channel2×2 mm$^{2}$ WSi superconducting microwire single photondetector (SMSPD) array exposed to 120 GeV proton beam and 8 GeVelectron and pion beam at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. TheSMSPD detection efficiency was measured for the first time forprotons, electrons, and pions, enabled by the use of a silicontracking telescope that provided precise spatial resolution of30 μm for 120 GeV protons and 130 μm for 8 GeVelectrons and pions. The result demonstrated consistent detectionefficiency across pixels and at different bias currents. Timeresolution of 1.15 ns was measured for the first time for SMSPDwith proton, electron, and pions, enabled by the use of an MCP-PMTwhich provided a ps-level reference time stamp. The resultspresented is the first step towards developing SMSPD array systemsoptimized for high energy particle detection and identification forfuture accelerator-based experiments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Large-area photon calorimeter with Ir-Pt bilayer transition-edge sensor for the CUPID experiment

CUPID is a next-generation neutrinoless double-β decay experiment that will require cryogenic light detectors to improve background suppression, via the simultaneous readout of heat and light channels from its scintillating crystals. In this work, we showcase light detectors based on an alternative Ir-Pt bilayer transition-edge sensor. We have performed a systematic study to improve the thermal coupling between the photon absorber and the sensor, and thereby its responsivity. Our first devices meet CUPID's baseline noise requirement of < 100 eV rms. Our detectors have risetimes of approximately 180μs and measured timing jitter of < 20μs for the expected signal to noise at the Q value of the decay, which achieves the CUPID's criterion of rejecting two-neutrino double-β decay pile-up events. In conclusion, the current work will inform the fabrication of future devices, culminating in the final TES design and a scaleable readout scheme for CUPID.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Measuring the Migdal effect in semiconductors for dark matter detection

The Migdal effect has received much attention from the dark matter direct detection community, in particular due to its power in setting leading limits on sub-GeV particle dark matter. However, it is crucial to obtain experimental confirmation of the Migdal effect through nuclear scattering using Standard Model probes. In this work, we extend existing calculations of the Migdal effect to the case of neutron-nucleus scattering, with a particular focus on neutron scattering angle distributions in silicon. We identify kinematic regimes wherein the assumptions present in current calculations of the Migdal effect hold for neutron scattering and demonstrate that these include viable neutron calibration schemes. We then apply this framework to propose an experimental strategy to measure the Migdal effect in cryogenic silicon detectors using an upgrade to the NEXUS facility at Fermilab.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

A High-Speed, High-Resolution Transition Edge Sensor Spectrometer for Soft X-Rays at the Advanced Photon Source

This project explores the design and development of a transition edge sensor (TES) spectrometer for resonant soft X-ray scattering (RSXS) measurements developed in collaboration between Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Soft X-ray scattering is a powerful technique for studying the electronic and magnetic properties of materials on a microscopic level. However, the lack of high-performance soft X-ray spectrometers has limited the potential of this technique. TES spectrometers have the potential to overcome these limitations due to their high energy resolution, high efficiency, and broad energy range. This project aims to optimize the design of a TES spectrometer for RSXS measurements and more generally soft X-ray spectroscopy at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) 29-ID, leading to improved understanding of advanced materials. We will present a detailed description of the instrument design and implementation. The spectrometer consists of a large array of approximately 250 high-speed and high-resolution pixels. The pixels have saturation energies of approximately 1 keV, sub-ms pulse duration and energy resolution of approximately 1 eV. The array is read out using microwave multiplexing chips with MHz bandwidth per channel, enabling efficient data throughput. To facilitate measurement of samples in situ under ultra-high vacuum conditions at the beamline, the spectrometer is integrated with an approximately 1 m long snout.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Line emission mapper microcalorimeter spectrometer

The line emission mapper (LEM) is a probe-class mission concept that is designed to detect x-ray emission lines from hot ionized gas (T > 10 6 K) that will enable us to test galaxy evolution theories. It will permit us to study the effects of stellar and black-hole feedback and flows of baryonic matter into and out of galaxies. The key to being able to study the hot gases that are otherwise invisible to current imaging x-ray spectrometers is that the energy resolution is sufficient to use cosmological redshift to separate extragalactic source lines from foreground Milky Way emission. LEM incorporates a large-format microcalorimeter array instrument called the LEM microcalorimeter spectrometer (LMS) with a light-weight x-ray optic with 10” half power diameter angular resolution. The LMS microcalorimeter array has pixels with 15" pixel pitch over a 33' field of view (FOV) optimized for the 0.3 to 2 keV energy band. The central 7' region of the array has an energy resolution of 1.3 eV at 1 keV and the rest of the FOV has 2.5 eV energy resolution at 1 keV. The array will be read out with state-of-the-art time-division multiplexing. We present an overview of the LMS instrument, including details of the entire detection chain, the focal plane assembly, as well as the cooling system and overall mechanical and thermal design. For each of the key technologies, we discuss the current technology readiness level and the plan to advance them to be ready for flight. We also describe the current system design and our estimate for the mass, power, and data rate of the instrument. The design details presented concentrate primarily on the unique aspects of the LMS design compared with prior missions and confirm that the type of microcalorimeter instrument needed for LEM is not only feasible but also technically mature.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Lessons from commissioning of the cryogenic system for the Short-Baseline Neutrino Detector at Fermilab

Results from commissioning and first year of operations of the cryogenic system of the Short-Baseline Neutrino Detector (SBND) and its membrane cryostat installed at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are described. The SBND detector is installed in a 200 m$^3$ membrane cryostat filled with liquid argon, which serves both as target and as active media. For the correct operation of the detector, the liquid argon must be kept in very stable thermal conditions while the contamination of electronegative impurities must be consistently kept at the level of small fractions of parts per billion. The detector is operated in Booster Neutrino Beams (BNB) at Fermilab for the search of sterile neutrinos and measurements of neutrino-argon cross sections. The cryostat and the cryogenic systems also serve as prototypes for the much larger equipment to be used for the LBNF/DUNE experiment. Since its installation in 2018-2023 and cooldown in spring of 2024, the cryostat and the cryogenic system have been commissioned to support the detector operations. The lessons learned through installation, testing, commissioning, cooldown, and initial operations are described.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Lessons from commissioning of the cryogenic system for the Short-Baseline Neutrino Detector at Fermilab

Results from commissioning and first year of operations of the cryogenic system of the Short-Baseline Neutrino Detector (SBND) and its membrane cryostat installed at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are described. The SBND detector is installed in a 200 m3 membrane cryostat filled with liquid argon, which serves both as target and as active media. For the correct operation of the detector, the liquid argon must be kept in very stable thermal conditions while the contamination of electronegative impurities must be consistently kept at the level of small fractions of parts per billion. The detector is operated in Booster Neutrino Beams (BNB) at Fermilab for the search of sterile neutrinos and measurements of neutrino-argon cross sections. The cryostat and the cryogenic systems also serve as prototypes for the much larger equipment to be used for the LBNF/DUNE experiment. Since its installation in 2018-2023 and cooldown in spring of 2024, the cryostat and the cryogenic system have been commissioned to support the detector operations. The lessons learned through installation, testing, commissioning, cooldown, and initial operations are described.

Geynisman, Michael [Fermilab]↗
DOE OSTI2024

Modeling and Characterization of TES-Based Detectors for the Ricochet Experiment

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE nu NS) offers a valuable approach in searching for physics beyond the standard model. The Ricochet experiment aims to perform a precision measurement of the CE nu NS spectrum at the Institut Laue-Langevin nuclear reactor with cryogenic solid-state detectors. The experiment plans to employ an array of cryogenic thermal detectors, each with a mass of around 30 g and an energy threshold of below 100 eV. The array includes nine detectors read out by transition-edge sensors (TES). These TES-based detectors will also serve as demonstrators for future neutrino experiments with thousands of detectors. In this article, we present an update on the characterization and modeling of a prototype TES detector.

Chang, C. L.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Status of LBNF/DUNE near site liquid argon proximity and external cryogenics systems development.

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) near site located at Fermilab will host the neutrino beam complex. It includes a high voltage liquid argon time projection chamber located 60-meter underground used as beamline instrumentation. The LAr cryogenic system provided by the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) regulates thermohydraulic conditions of the membrane cryostat hosting the detector with 285 Ton purified LAr. The purification system uses molecular sieve and copper oxide pellets to manage the argon contamination below 100 ppt (parts per trillion) oxygen equivalent. The detector and its cryogenics are capable to move a stroke of 30 meters on/off beam. The cryogenic system modes of operation include the cryostat pressure test, purge in open loop, detector cooldown, cryostat fill, closed loop purification, liquid empty, and purification system activation/regeneration process. The system design status and schedule, and technical details such as operating modes and interfaces are reported in this paper.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Simons Observatory: Characterization of the Large Aperture Telescope Receiver

The Simons Observatory (SO) is a ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) survey experiment that currently consists of three 0.42 m small-aperture telescopes and one 6 m large-aperture telescope (LAT), located at an elevation of 5200 m in the Atacama Desert in Chile. At the LAT’s focal plane, SO will install >62,000 transition-edge sensor detectors across 13 optics tubes (OTs) within the Large Aperture Telescope Receiver (LATR), the largest cryogenic camera ever built to observe the CMB. Furthermore we report on the validation of the LATR in the laboratory and the subsequent dark testing and validation within the LAT. We show that the LATR meets cryogenic, optical, and detector specifications required for high-sensitivity measurements of the CMB. At the time of writing, the LATR is installed in the LAT with six OTs (corresponding to >31,000 detectors), and the LAT mirrors and remaining seven OTs are undergoing development.

Astronomical instrumentation↗
DOE OSTI2026

A cryogenic muon tagging system based on kinetic inductance detectors for superconducting quantum processors

Ionizing radiation has emerged as a potential limiting factor for superconducting quantum processors, inducing quasiparticle bursts and correlated errors that challenge fault-tolerant operation. Atmospheric muons are particularly problematic due to their high energy and penetration power, making passive shielding ineffective. Therefore, monitoring the real-time muon flux is crucial to guide the development of alternative error-correction or mitigation strategies. We present the design, simulation, and first operation of a cryogenic muon-tagging system based on kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs), developed as a stand-alone cryogenic particle-tagging module for superconducting quantum processors. The system consists of two KIDs arranged in a vertical stack and operated at ∼20 mK. Monte Carlo simulations based on Geant4 guided the prototype design and provided reference expectations for muon-tagging efficiency and accidental coincidences due to ambient γ-rays. We observed a muon-induced coincidence rate among the top and bottom detectors of (192 ± 9) $\times\,10^{-3}$ events s$^{−1}$, in excellent agreement with the Monte Carlo prediction. The prototype achieves a muon-tagging efficiency of about 90% with negligible dead time. These results demonstrate the feasibility of operating a muon-tagging system at millikelvin temperatures and represent a key step toward the integration of cryogenic veto systems with multi-qubit chips to mitigate muon-induced errors.

Mariani, Ambra [INFN, Rome] (ORCID:000000028184857↗
DOE OSTI2021

Argonaut - A Robotic System for Cryogenic Environments

Fermilab and the HEP community invest significant resources into liquid argon detectors. The largest and most expensive of these detectors will be located in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). However, recent experiences have shown that there are limited avenues of monitoring, intervention, and interaction in the internal liquid environment. This proposal shows a technological path that could provide a valuable tool to ensure or at least improve the management of these HEP detectors. The development of a robotic system named Argonaut will demonstrate several technologies including 1) demonstration of suitable mobility of a small robotic device at liquid argon temperatures, 2) demonstration of wireless communication, 3) demonstration of improved diagnostics capabilities - such as tunable optics with motion control, 4) demonstration of interconnectivity of a robotic system with hardware residing within the detector. This initial research will be a seed for extended development in cold robotics and associated technologies. This work will allow FNAL to contribute a significant technology capability to recent efforts to cryogenic detector operations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Broadband optical modulation and control at millikelvin temperatures

A universal experimental challenge in studying radiation effects on cryogenic devices is precisely and accurately characterizing the position-dependent device response near the energy detection threshold. Here, we have developed a compact cryogenic optical beam steering system that can be used to generate O (μs) pulses of small numbers of photons over the energy range of 1.3–3.4 eV at room temperature, and deliver those photons via fiber optic to any specified location on the surface of a detector operating at cryogenic temperatures. This new system will allow for robust calibration of any photon-sensitive detector, including superconducting devices. The system can be used efficiently to explore the physics of target materials, quantify the position sensitivity of different sensor designs, measure phonon transport, and study the effects of quasiparticle poisoning on detector operation. We describe the design of this pulsed calibration method and present first results obtained with a second-generation system operated at room temperature and sub-Kelvin temperatures.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Kubernetes for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment Data Acquisition

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation long-baseline neutrino experiment based in the USA which is expected to start taking data in 2029. DUNE aims to precisely measure neutrino oscillation parameters by detecting neutrinos from the LBNF beamline (Fermilab) at the Far Detector, 1,300 kilometres away, in South Dakota at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. The Far Detector will consist of four cryogenic Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detectors of 17 kT, each producing more than 1 TB/sec of data. The main requirements for the data acquisition system are the ability to run continuously for extended periods of time, with a 99% up-time requirement, and the functionality to record both beam neutrinos and low energy neutrinos from the explosion of a neighbouring supernova, should one occur during the lifetime of the experiment. The key challenges are the high data rates that the detectors generate and the deep underground environment, which places constraints on power and space. To overcome these challenges, DUNE plans to use a highly optimised C++ software suite and a server farm of about 110 nodes continuously running about two hundred multicore processes located close to the detector, 1.5 kilometres underground. Thirty nodes will be at the surface and will run around two hundred processes simultaneously. DUNE is studying the use of the Kubernetes framework to manage containerised workloads and take advantage of its resource definitions and high up-time services to run the DAQ system. Progress in deploying these systems at the CERN neutrino platform on the prototype DUNE experiments is reported.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Calibration and Performance of Germanium High Voltage Detectors for SuperCDMS SNOLAB

As SuperCDMS SNOLAB is getting ready to search for low mass dark matter particles, using cryogenic Ge and Si detectors, a set of six of the new SuperCDMS High Voltage (HV) detectors (four Ge and two Si) were tested in the Cryogenic Underground TEst facility (CUTE) at SNOLAB. This provided the first opportunity to gain experience with this new detector type and assess their performance thoroughly under low background conditions. Here we describe the SuperCDMS HV detector concept and discuss some of the newly developed analysis methods and approaches. Focusing on the Ge detectors, we investigate the detector performance under voltage bias (up to 90 V), exercise the low energy (keV to sub-keV range) calibration based on the electron capture peaks generated by the decay of $^{71}$Ge, assess the detector resolution, and demonstrate the unexpected (and encouraging) ability of these detectors to also measure high energy interactions in the hundreds of keV range with good resolution (better than 3% at 356 keV).

Albakry, M. F. [British Columbia U.; TRIUMF]↗