Large-Area TKIDs for Charged Particle Detection

Nuclear physics has long played a central role in our efforts to better understand the natural world. Several experiments are currently well positioned to improve limits in searches for physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Many experiments in nuclear physics have traditionally used semiconductor or scintillation detectors for particle detection, yet these face fundamental performance limitations that greatly restrict the sensitivity achievable. A new detector paradigm for charged particle detection could potentially open up orders of magnitude improvement in 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 suitable for external charged particle detection would significantly impact the next generation of nuclear experiments, allowing orders of magnitude improvements in sensitivity.