Transition-Edge Sensor Microcalorimeters for X-ray Beamline Science

TLDR: In this article, the superconducting Transition Edge Sensor (TES) is applied to beamline science: the TES consists of a thin metal film that is held in the super-conducting-to-normal transition by a voltage bias, which causes negative-going current pulse with amplitude proportional to the deposited energy.

Abstract: An important and fast-growing technology in the realm of cryogenic detectors has recently been applied to beamline science: the superconducting Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) A TES consists of a thin metal film that is held in the superconducting-to-normal transition by a voltage bias When a single X-ray photon is absorbed, the temperature and resistance of the film increase, which causes a negative-going current pulse with amplitude proportional to the deposited energy The thin-film thermometer is typically coupled to a photon absorber composed of a high atomic number element such as bismuth or gold, so efficiencies near unity are possible for X-rays up to 10 keV TESs are an example of a broader class of sensors called microcalorimeters that measure energetic events through a change in temperature The energy resolution of a well-designed microcalorimeter is set by thermodynamic power fluctuations between the sensor and the local heat bath as well as by additional noise terms such as the Johnson noise