Low Temperature Microcalorimeters for Decay Energy Spectroscopy

Abstract

Low Temperature Detectors have been used to measure embedded radioisotopes in a measurement mode known as Decay Energy Spectroscopy (DES) since 1992. DES microcalorimeter measurements have been used for applications ranging from neutrino mass measurements to metrology to measurements for safeguards and medical nuclides. While the low temperature detectors have extremely high intrinsic energy resolution (several times better than semiconductor detectors), the energy resolution achieved in practice is strongly dependent on factors such as sample preparation method. This review seeks to present the literature consensus on what has been learned by looking at the energy resolution as a function of various choices of detector, absorber, and sample preparation methods.

Toward a New Primary Standardization of Radionuclide Massic Activity Using Microcalorimetry and Quantitative Milligram-Scale Samples

“…Non-absolute TES-based DES was developed by a collaboration between NIST and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) [ 15 ]. DES has been developed with TESs and other ultralow-temperature sensors such as metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs) [ 20 ] for a variety of applications such nuclear safeguards, forensics, and nuclear decay data [ 12 , 21 ]. For practical ADES, TESs must be able to handle larger heat-capacity absorbers and to absorb decay energy from energetic particles while also achieving fast thermal recovery.…”

“…In DES, both spectroscopy and spectrometry have been developed and applied in multiple fields, including nuclear safeguards, forensics, medicine, and nuclear decay data. A recent review of the topic [ 12 ] cited the first DES measurement in 1992 [ 13 ] and the first TES-based DES measurement in 2000 [ 14 ], both of which aimed to put a limit on neutrino mass by measuring the end-point energy of beta decay spectra. An important milestone in spectrometery was the first measurement of the isotopic ratio of plutonium isotopes [ 15 , 16 ], which agreed with traditional mass spectrometery.…”

Determination of fractional electron capture probabilities of 59Ni by means of Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters

“…MMCs have the potential to measure electron capture decay data in low to medium energy transitions with unprecedented precision without relying on uorescence yields [3]. MMCs offer excellent energy resolution, enable low energy thresholds as well, and near 100% detection e ciencies for electrons and photons in the decay energy spectroscopy (DES) measurement mode [4], [5]. Due to the long thermal time constants of the detector compared to the duration of the atomic rearrangement process, the energy of the individual Auger electrons and photons is summed up and read out as a single pulse.…”

A Lab-Scale Experiment for keV Sterile Neutrino Search

“…Moreover, the direct detection of the neutrino mass has been intensively carried out with promising sensitivities from an accurate end-point measurement of the 163 Ho electron capture spectrum using low temperature microcalorimeters [8,9]. On the other hand, the microcalorimeters together with the source manipulation technologies established decay energy spectroscopy that has been adopted in radionuclide analysis and the study of beta decay spectra [10][11][12][13].…”