Presidential Young Investigator Award: Microfabrication Facility for Superconducting Detectors for Elementary Particles

该奖项支持基本粒子的研究 芭芭拉·J·诺伊豪泽博士，一位年轻的总统 研究者，加利福尼亚州旧金山弗朗西斯科州立大学。 的目的 超导探测器的研制 对于弱相互作用的非重子粒子， 宇宙的“暗物质”。 自从确定了 暗物质粒子取决于探测器的发展 灵敏度阈值低于 最好的常规粒子探测器，使用一种新型的 低温探测器，称为硅晶体声探测器 （SiCAD），已被提出。 研究将包括 超灵敏超导隧道的研制 结用作这种新探测器上声子探测器。 的 入射粒子碰撞产生声子 一个原子核或电子在一个立方体的超纯单 在非常低的温度下冷却的晶体硅。

This award supports research in Elementary Particle Physics by Dr. Barbara J. Neuhauser, a Presidential Young Investigator, San Francisco State University, CA. The aim of the research in the development of superconducting detectors for weakly interacting non baryonic particles which may form the "dark matter" of the universe. Since the identification of dark matter particles depends upon the development of detectors with a lower threshold of sensitivity than are offered by the best conventional particle detectors, the use of a new type of cryogenic detector, called a silicon crystal acoustic detector (SiCAD), has been proposed. The research will consists in the development of extremely sensitive superconducting tunnel junction for use as phonon detector on this new detector. The phonons are generated by the collision of an incident particle with a nucleus or electron in a cube of ultra-pure single crystal silicon cooled at very low temperature.