Time evolution of electric fields in CDMS detectors

S. W. Leman, D. Brandt, P. L. Brink, B. Cabrera, H. Chagani, M. Cherry, P. Cushman, E. Do Couto E Silva, T. Doughty, E. Figueroa-Feliciano, V. Mandic, K. A. McCarthy, N. Mirabolfathi, M. Pyle, A. Reisetter, R. Resch, B. Sadoulet, B. Serfass, K. M. Sundqvist, A. TomadaB. A. Young, J. Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) utilizes large mass, 3'' diameter×1'' thick target masses as particle detectors. The target is instrumented with both phonon and ionization sensors, the later providing a ∼1 Vcm-1 electric field in the detector bulk. Cumulative radiation exposure which creates ∼200 × 106 electron-hole pairs could be sufficient to produce a comparable reverse field in the detector thereby degrading the ionization channel performance, if it was not shielded by image charges on the electrodes. To study this, the existing CDMS detector Monte Carlo has been modified to allow for an event by event evolution of the bulk electric field, in three spatial dimensions. Surprisingly, this simple model is not sufficient to explain the degradation of detector performance. Our most recent results and interpretation are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1099-1105
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Low Temperature Physics
Volume167
Issue number5-6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2012

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This work is supported in part by the United States National Science Foundation (under Grant Nos. PHY-0847342, 0705052 , 0902182 and 1004714) and the United States Department of Energy (under contract DE-AC02-76SF00515).

Keywords

  • Charge transport
  • Cryogenic
  • Dark matter search
  • Germanium

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Time evolution of electric fields in CDMS detectors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this