This is where the particle
detectors sit at 20 milliKelvin, the coldest
part of the cryostat. When being used inside the Berkeley
cryostat, usually only one or two detector
assemblies are in the Stack (all of the cold hardware assembled
together). However, inside the mine in Soudan (click here for
pictures of the construction of the experiment in the mine), Minnesota,
the stack will contain six detector assemblies.
On this page:
Particle detector
The superconducting detectors,
made of either silicon or germanium, are fabricated at Stanford. CDMS II will be using both ZIP
(shown in the photo) and FLIP detectors. Every detector has two sides:
- 1) one with Tungsten phonon detectors (you should be able to
see the waffle-like cross-hatching in the photo to the left) and
- 2) the other with ionization detectors (look for the two
concentric circles).
Click on the photo to the left to see an enlarged version of it
and get a closer look.
For a write-up on how the detectors operate,
check out
this page.
to
the top
Detector housing
The detector housings, with
particle detectors inside them, are called the "detector
assemblies." The hexagonal housings are made of pure copper to
prevent contamination and protect the detectors from unwanted
radiation. Superconducting wires run from the detectors, out the
sides of the housing and through the Basement
to the Tower
and then outside the cryostat to computers and other monitoring
systems. Inside a housing are six clamps; three hold each side of a
detector in place.
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the top
Comments: jrembaum@cosmology.berkeley.edu
Updated:
(JDR) 05/24/02
