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Transition-edge sensor

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Image of four tungsten transition edge sensors.
Optical image of four tungsten transition edge sensors for near-infrared single-photon detection. Image credit: NIST.

A transition edge sensor or TES is a type of cryogenic particle detector that exploits the strongly temperature-dependent resistance of the superconducting phase transition.

Principle of operation

A TES consists of a small volume of superconducting material that is cooled below its superconducting critical temperature and electrically biased on the superconducting transition. In this state, the device has a finite electrical resistance that is less than the resistance in the fully non-superconducting state. Energy coupled to the detector increases its temperature, pushing it further into the non-superconducting state and thereby increasing its electrical resistance. This increase in resistance can be used to detect very small changes in temperature, and hence in energy. TESs are commonly operated with low noise SQUID readouts. The low input impedance of the SQUID provides negative electrothermal feedback that can significantly speed up the device response and improve the energy resolution.[1]

Applications

TES arrays are becoming increasingly common in physics and astronomy experiments such as the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, the E and B Experiment, the SCUBA-2 All Sky Survey, the South Pole Telescope, and the Spider polarimeter.

References

  1. ^ K. D. Irwin and G. C. Hilton, "Transition-Edge Sensors," Cryogenic Particle Detection, ed. C. Enss, Springer, 2005, doi:10.1007/10933596_3

See also

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