Charged Particle Detection with Thermal Kinetic Inductance Detectors

 There has been longstanding interest in the potential of using precision nuclear physics experiments to improve limits in searches for physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). The traditional particle detection technology of many of these experiments, semiconductor or scintillation detectors, face fundamental performance limitations that greatly restrict the sensitivity achievable. A new detector paradigm for charged particle detection has the potential to dramatically improve sensitivity in searches for BSM physics. 

We are working to achieve this by adapting Thermal Kinetic Inductance Detectors (TKIDs) for external charged particle detection. These cryogenic detectors are used in X-ray and gamma spectroscopy as well as dark matter searches and have been shown to have photon energy resolutions on the order of tens of eV. They can be multiplexed to create large area detectors. Thus far, however, TKIDs have not yet been developed for external (non-embedded) charged particle detection. Creating a TKID with a sensitivity of 100s of eV or better for such sources of could significantly impact the next generation of nuclear experiments. This talk will cover the initial prototype design and characterization and the results from X-ray measurements.