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Nuclear Electronics with Quantum Cryogenic Detectors
Nuclear Electronics with Quantum Cryogenic Detectors
Second Edition
Vladimir Polushkin
Business and Technological Consultant, MA, PhD, MBA
This second edition first published 2022
© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Edition History
John Wiley & Sons Ltd (1e, 2004)
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v
Contents
Preface to the Second Edition xi

Preface to the First Edition xv
1 Interaction of the Nuclear Radiation with Detector Absorbers 1

Introduction 1
1.1 The Intrinsic Quantum Efficiency of Radiation Detectors 3
1.2 Detection of Charged Particles 4
1.2.1 Light-Charged Particles 5
1.2.2 The Continuous “Braking” Radiation (Bremsstrahlung) 9
1.2.3 Backscattering of Charged Particles 9
1.2.4 Heavy-Charged Particles 10
1.3 Primary Interactions of X- and γ-Ray Photons with Solid-State Absorbers 12
1.3.1 Photoelectric Effect 12
1.3.2 Compton Scattering 13
1.3.3 The Pair Production 14
1.3.4 Attenuation of Photon Radiation in Solid-State Detector Absorbers 15
1.4 Detection of Neutrons with Solid-State Radiation Sensors 16
10
1.4.1 B(n,α)7Li Nuclear Reaction 17
1.4.2 6
Li(n,α)3Η Nuclear Reaction 18
1.5 Heat Generation in Athermal Quasiparticle Absorbers 20
References 20
2 Radiation Detectors with Superconducting Absorbers 23

Introduction 23
2.1 Selected Topics of the Superconductivity Theory 25
2.1.1 The Electron–Phonon Interaction and Cooper Pairing Mechanisms 25
2.1.2 The Behavior of Superconductors in the Magnetic Field 27
2.1.3 The Tunnel Josephson Junction 28
2.1.4 The Superconducting Transmission Line: The Kinetic Inductance 30
2.2 Superconducting Absorbers: The Down-Conversion of Particle Energy and Intrinsic Energy Resolution 35
2.2.1 The Energy Down-Conversion Process in Superconducting Absorbers 35
2.2.2 The Intrinsic Energy Resolution of Quasiparticle Detectors with Superconducting Absorbers 37
2.3 Transport in the Nonequilibrium Superconductors: Incomplete Charge Collection Mechanisms 38
2.3.1 The Recombination Time of Quasiparticles in Superconductor Absorbers 39
2.3.2 The Rothwarf–Taylor (R–T) Phenomenological Framework 40
2.3.3 The Diffusion of Quasiparticles in Thin-Film Superconducting Absorbers: Incomplete Charge Collection 41
2.3.4 Noise Equivalent Power (NEP) of Superconducting Absorbers 43
2.4 Quasiparticle Radiation Detectors with Superconducting Tunnel Junction (STJ) Readout 45
2.4.1 The Bandgap Engineering and Fabrication of STJ Detectors 45
2.4.2 The Giaever I–V Curve of the STJs 46
vi Contents
2.4.3 The Tunneling Mechanisms in STJs 49

2.4.4 Pileup and Count Rate Capability of the STJ Detectors 50
2.5 Quasiparticle Radiation Detectors with Microwave Kinetic Inductance Sensors (MKID) 54
2.5.1 The Operating Principle of Microwave Kinetic Inductance Sensors 54
2.5.2 The DROID X-ray Detector with Microwave Kinetic Inductance Sensor Readout 62
2.6 Integration of STJ Detectors with Microwave SQUID Multiplexed Readout 66
2.6.1 Bandwidth Considerations 67
References 68
3 Radiation Detectors with Normal Metal Absorbers 73

Introduction 73
3.1 Spectrometers Based on Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) Microcalorimeters 73
3.1.1 Fundamentals of TES Design 73
3.1.2 The Electrothermal Feedback in TES Microcalorimeters 78
3.2 TES Microcalorimeters with Microwave SQUID Readout (μMUX): Imaging Cameras 83
3.2.1 The Quantum Efficiency 84
3.2.2 The Energy Resolution 85
3.2.3 The Throughput 85
3.2.4 The Bandwidth Per the Core TES Channel 86
3.3 Hot Electron Microcalorimeter with the NIS Tunnel Junction Thermometer 88
References 92
4 Radiation Detectors with Semiconductor Absorbers 95

Introduction 95
4.1 Semiconductor Transport 96
4.1.1 Valence Bond and Energy Band Models 96
4.1.2 Carrier Scattering Mechanisms and Mobility in Semiconductor Bulk Materials 104
4.1.3 Carrier Generation and Recombination (G–R) Processes 108
4.1.4 Effects of the G–R Transport on the Performance of Radiation Detectors 117
4.1.5 Tunneling-Assisted Transport in Semiconductor Materials 118
4.1.6 Tunneling Transport Across the Thin Dielectric Barrier 122
4.1.7 The Semiconductor–Vacuum Interface: Surface Transport 125
4.2 Macroscopic Modeling of Semiconductor Devices 129
4.2.1 Microscopic Transport Models Based on the Schrödinger Equation 131
4.2.2 The Semiclassical Transport Models 132
4.2.3 The Initial and Boundary Conditions in Device Modeling: The Ramo–Shockley Theorem 139
4.3 Front Windows in Semiconductor Radiation Detectors 141
4.3.1 Entrance Window Based on Schottky Barrier Junction 142
4.3.2 Front Window Based on Metal–Insulator–Semiconductor (MIS) Junction 150
4.3.3 The p–n Junction-Based Front Window in Radiation Detectors 156
4.4 Fabrication of Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD) 164
4.4.1 The Epitaxially Grown Ultra-shallow p+n Junction Entrance Windows 165
4.4.2 The Pure Boron Technology for Ultra-shallow Entrance Windows 166
4.5 Semiconductor Drift Detectors 167
4.5.1 Semiconductor Detectors: Operation Principle and Performance Specifications 167
4.5.2 The Intrinsic Energy Resolution of Semiconductor Detectors 170
4.5.3 Time Response of SDDs 173
4.6 The Quantum Calorimetric Electron–Hole Detector with Semiconductor Absorber 174
4.6.1 The Phonon System Dynamics in Semiconductor Materials 175
4.6.2 The Design and Performance of the Quantum Electron–Hole Detector 176
References 178
Contents vii
5 Front-End Readout Electronic Circuits for Quantum Cryogenic Detectors 183

Introduction 183
5.1 JFET Transconductance Preamplifiers 184
5.1.1 Principles of JFET Transconductance Amplifiers 185
5.1.2 Settling Time of Preamplifiers 187
5.2 Dynamics and Noise of JFET Amplifiers 189
5.2.1 Static and Dynamic Parameters of JFETs 191
5.2.2 Noise Characteristics of JFETs 193
5.2.3 PentaFET: High Precision Reset Mechanism 195
5.2.4 The JFET Cascode Stage 196
5.2.5 The Source Follower-Based Charge-Sensitive Preamplifier 197
5.2.6 The Differential Stage Based on Matched JFETs 198
5.3 The Low Noise Amplifiers Based on High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) 200
5.4 The dc SQUID Current Amplifiers 204
5.4.1 The dc SQUID as a Superconducting Parametric Amplifier 204
5.4.2 The dc SQUID with an Intermediary Input Transformer 207
5.4.3 The Coupled Energy Resolution of a Double Transformer dc SQUID 209
5.4.4 The dc SQUID Readout Electronics 212
5.4.5 The SQUID with the Digital Bode FLL Controller 216
5.4.6 The dc SQUID Amplifier in the Small-Signal Limit (Noise) 219
5.4.7 SQUID Current Amplifier in the Large Signal Limit (Dynamics) 223
5.4.8 SQUID Current Amplifier in the Large Signal Limit (Noise) 226
5.5 The dc SQUID Current Amplifier at Ultralow Temperature (ULT) 228
5.5.1 A Double-Stage Amplifier with a Single Front ULT SQUID 228
5.5.2 A Double-Stage Amplifier with the Front ULT SQUID Array 233
5.6 Microwave SQUID Parametric Amplifiers 234
5.6.1 Operation Principle of Microwave SQUIDs with External Pumping (MSQUIDs) 234
5.6.2 The Nonlinearities in the MSQUID Readout 236
5.6.3 The Flux Ramp Modulation Methodology 237
5.6.4 Performance of MSQUID Current Amplifier 238
5.7 Design Methodology of Analog Circuitries 242
5.7.1 The Laplace Transform: Transfer Functions of Electronic Networks 242
5.7.2 Design of Analog Pulse-Shaping Filter Cells 246
5.7.3 Design of Low-Pass Filters 253
5.7.4 Graphical Methods of Analysis and Synthesis in the Frequency Domain 259
5.7.5 The Describing Function of Nonlinear Elements in the Frequency Domain 271
5.7.6 Systems with Synchronous Multipliers 274
References 280
6 The Energy Resolution of Radiation Spectrometers 285

Introduction 285
6.1 Signal-to-Noise Ratio, Equivalent Noise Charge of Radiation Spectrometers: General Definitions 287
6.2 Energy Resolution of Quasiparticle Detectors (STJs, SDDs) 290
6.2.1 The Tunnel Junction Coupled to a JFET Transconductance Amplifier 290
6.2.2 Energy Resolution of STJ Sensors Readout with SQUID Current Preamps 296
6.3 Optimal Filtration in Radiation Spectrometers 300
6.4 Energy Resolution of TES Microcalorimeters 302
6.5 Matrix Readout Multiplexing of STJ Detectors 306
6.5.1 Matrix Readout of STJ Sensors with JFET Transconductance Amplifiers 306
6.5.2 Matrix Readout with SQUID Current Amplifiers 307
6.6 Time-Division Multiplexor (TDM) 309
viii Contents
6.7 Frequency Division Multiplexing with Microwave SQUIDs (μMUX) 311

6.8 Code Division Multiplexing (CDM): Spread-Spectrum Modulation (SSM) 314
References 317
7 Signal Processing in Radiation Spectrometers 321

Introduction 321
7.1 Signal Conditioning Units 322
7.1.1 Overview of the Digital Pulse Processing Architectures 322
7.1.2 AC-Coupled Digital Spectrometers 325
7.1.3 Digital Pulse Processing with the Moving Window Deconvolution 328
7.1.4 DC-Coupled Digital Pulse Processors 329
7.1.5 DC-Coupled Digital Pulse Processors with a Sliding Window Signal Conditioner 330
7.2 Analog-to-Digital Conversion 332
7.2.1 Analog-to-Digital Converters: Basic Information 332
7.2.2 The Quantization Noise Model of ADC 332
7.2.3 Nonlinearities of ADC 335
7.2.4 Aperture Time of ADCs 337
7.2.5 Aperture Uncertainty of ADCs 338
7.2.6 Reduction of the Differential Nonlinearity with the Sliding Scale Method 339
7.3 Digital Filtration 340
7.3.1 Z-Transform Methodology 340
7.3.2 Design of Digital Filters with Z-transform 347
7.3.3 The Stability of Digital Filters 351
7.3.4 Trapezoidal Pulse-Shaping Digital Filter 352
7.3.5 Moving Average Pulse Processing 354
7.4 Throughput of Digital Spectrometers 355
7.4.1 Pulse Recognition Channel: Pileup Detection 355
7.4.2 Timing Resolution of Digital Spectrometers 357
7.4.3 The Pileup Decoding in Digital Pulse Processors 359
7.4.4 Digital Rise (Fall) Time Discrimination 360
7.5 Selected Topics of the Hardware Design 363
7.5.1 Noise Reduction in Systems with Switching Power Supplies 364
7.5.2 PCB Layout 366
7.5.3 Layout, Decoupling, and Grounding of ADCs 368
7.5.4 Grounding Aspects of the System Design 369
References 371
8 Ultralow Temperature (ULT) Cryogenic Arrangements 373

Introduction 373
8.1 Cooling Technologies for Sub-1 K Temperature 374
8.1.1 The 3He Refrigerator 375
8.1.2 The Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) 376
8.1.3 Temperature Control in ADRs 381
8.2 Magnetic Shielding at Low Temperature 384
8.2.1 The μ-Metal Shields 384
8.2.2 The Superconducting Shielding 386
8.2.3 Solenoid Inside a Cylindrical Superconducting Shield 387
8.3 Thermal Load on ULT Cooling Stages 388
8.3.1 Thermal Conduction Through Solids 389
8.3.2 Thermal Conduction Through the Gas 390
8.3.3 Thermal Radiation 391
8.4 Cryogenic Packaging for the Focal Plane Array (FPA) Unit 391
Contents ix
8.4.1 Design of the FPA Unit Implementing the TDM Technique 392
8.4.2 The Collimation of the FPA Unit 395
8.4.3 Solid Angle of the Nuclear Radiation Spectrometer 396
8.4.4 Focusing Polycapillary X-ray Optics 397
8.4.5 Wiring at mK Temperatures 400
8.5 Cryogenic Design for Detectors with Microwave Frequency-division Multiplexing 401
8.6 The Collection Efficiency of Radiation Spectrometers 404
References 407
9 Applications of Radiation Spectrometers Based on Quantum Cryogenic Detectors 409

Introduction 409
9.1 Nanoanalytical Chemistry with the SEM Electron Probe 411
9.1.1 The SEM-Based Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) 411
9.1.2 The Dual Array TES-Based EDS 416
9.1.3 Complementary Techniques in the Electron Probe Nanoanalysis: The Auger Spectroscopy 417
9.1.4 Complementary Techniques in the Electron Probe Nanoanalysis: The Wavelength Dispersive Spectrometers 418
9.2 Energy-Dispersive MALDI–TOF Mass Spectrometry for Biochemical Analysis 420
References 425
Index 427
xi
Preface to the Second Edition
Nuclear Electronics as a scientific field makes a vital contribution to our everyday life. Even the non-technical general public
would recognize many applications of the discipline and their significance for our society, e.g. systems that sustain operation
and safety of nuclear reactors in power stations, ship engines, or submarines, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
machines, Computed Controlled Tomography Scanners in medicine, large telescopes in Astrophysics. Less known, but
equally critically important nuclear analytical instruments ensure the food safety on supermarket shelves, security of
our airports, forensic investigations of residues in criminalistics, monitoring petrol quality, and many other implementa-
tions. The technological advance in nanotechnology, life science, biochemistry, ecology, medicine, semiconductors, remote
sensing has become more and more dependent on the information which comes uniquely from the nuclear radiation sen-
sors. The information they produce can either be a chemical composition of various samples, or a crystal structure, or a
surface morphology, or recognition and characterization of individual layers in a multilayer formation, or a mass distribu-
tion in molecular specimens, or DNA structure. The possibilities, already very impressive, still expand rapidly, practically on
the daily basis. Besides, in almost all already known applications, there is an ever-pressing demand for more detailed anal-
ysis combined with improved productivity to scan increasing volumes of samples per unit time. To meet this demand,
Nuclear Electronics specialists conduct continuous research into new more advanced detection techniques and perfect
those that already exist to deliver the best possible resolution, throughput, detection efficiency, performance stability,
and data reproducibility.
Nuclear Electronics evolved from the start as a distinct scientific field alongside the large-scale nuclear physics projects
primarily because the mainstream electronic industry did not address specific requirements and regulations. Examples
include, for instance, the exceptional purity requirement for detector materials, more demanding electronic component
performance specifications, reliability, the operation in extreme environments, specially tailored design tools and
manufacture processes, etc. The detachment of the discipline has been from the start and remains to this time. No single
general-purpose foundry will accept designs involving the manufacture of a system-on-chip that, e.g. combines the ultra-
shallow blocking junction drift detectors and associated readout/processing electronics on the high purity semiconductor
wafer. This type of work requires specialized equipment and appropriately trained personnel. Therefore, it is advisable for
engineers and scientists entering the field to acquire interdisciplinary skills in addition to those attributed normally to main-
stream electronics. These skills are necessary for negotiations with foundry staff, sub-contractors, application specialists.
The most critical technologies are normally being developed in-house. Fig. p1 gives a summary of competencies associated
with the Radiation Measurement Instrumentation, a specific branch of Nuclear Electronics, which will be dealt with in this
manuscript.
The cryogenic solid-state detectors used for high precision radiation measurements can be classified into two groups:
1) Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) Detectors operating in a sub-1 K range (Chapters 2,3);

2) Semiconductor-based Drift Chambers or CCDs (Charge Coupled Devices) moderately cooled below room temperature,
normally above a liquid nitrogen 77K (Chapter 4).
The sub-1 K superconducting detectors tend to serve the most challenging applications in terms of the required energy
resolution, whereas less precise semiconductor counterparts are often referred to as the “working horse” of the Spectro-
scopic Industries. Many publications perceive these technologies as competitive. In reality, they co-exist complementarily.
The state-of-art Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) with an area up to 200 mm2, energy resolution of 125 eV (MnKα), and count
xii Preface to the Second Edition
Cryo-Nuclear
Electronics
Based on Consists of Requires Makes use of
Material Detector Detector Design

Science Design Technology Tools
Radiation Analogue
Low Noise Cryogenics
Detectors Circuitry
Electronic Digital Test

Bandwidth
Circuitry Circuity Facilities
Signal Firm ware,

Windowing Applications
Processing Software
Systemization Connectivity Certification
Figure p1 The definition of Nuclear Electronics as a scientific, technical, and technological discipline.
rate capability above 106 counts per second (cps) [1,2] are natural candidates for the wide-angle cameras. These cameras
collect broad data from large areas of, for instance, sky or specimens, whereas the narrow-angle cameras built on the base of
ULT detectors extend the capabilities of SDDs by zooming into points of particular interest. The best superconducting detec-
tors have a smaller focal plane coverage but demonstrated an energy resolution down to (2 to 5) eV at MnKα for a few hun-
dred cps per pixel [3]. Fig. p2 illustrates the complementarity of these two sensing technologies (reproduced from [8] with
permission of Springer Nature, license 5125391328507). It shows a combined X-ray energy spectrum diagram measured on a
copper sample with a 2 MeV proton excitation beam with SDD and TES-based spectrometers. The arrangement for this
Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) experiment is described in the manuscript (see Fig. 8.4.1 and relater text). The ben-
efit from using the integrated SDD/TES instrument in terms of improvement in the resolving power and speed is evident.
We continuously get new confirmations to it from the latest comparative studies, e.g. the XANES (near edge structure) anal-
ysis of dilute samples and trace elements described in [9].
4000
Copper sample 2 MeV proton beam
3500 TES SDD TES
Cu Kα1
3000 Cu Kα2
1000
Counts / 0.4 eV bin
Cu Kβ
2500
100 Co Kα
Co Kβ
2000 Ni Kα
1500 10
SDD
1000
1
7000 7500 8000 8500 9000
500
7800 8000 8200 8400 8600 8800 9000
Energy (eV)
Figure p2 The combined Cu-sample X-ray spectra exited with 2 MeV proton beam and measured with TES and SDD detectors. Inset
shows the same data in logarithmic scale to reveal details in the resolving power (reproduced from [8] with permission of Springer Nature,
license 5125391328507).
Preface to the Second Edition xiii
Due to the compatibility of semiconductor and superconductor technologies, it felt reasonable to add a new Chapter 4 on
SDDs in this second edition. This should give a more balanced overview of the entire field. Besides, modern semiconductor
devices undoubtedly belong to the class of quantum cryogenic devices by definition for at least two reasons:
1) in semiconductor technology with continuously reducing features and sharp interfaces, the quantum models hierarchy
(or importance of quantum corrections to semi-classical models) is increasing [4],
2) Silicon is readily available in the highly purified crystalline form with a resistivity up to 50 kΩ m. Such high resistivity
together with modern processing techniques reducing the density of unsaturated charge states at the Si-SiO2 interface
down to just 5x108 cm-2, 450 μm thick SDDs demonstrate good performance already at few tens degrees below 0 C.
However, extending the energy range of measured nuclear radiation with the maximized quantum efficiency will require
thicker Si wafers or materials with a higher atomic number Z. The quantum efficiency scales approximately as Z5.
Germanium with Z=28 enables substantial improvement over silicon (Z=14) and has excellent prospects as a material
of choice for further advancing the drift chamber performance specifications. It has a smaller energy gap of 0.66 eV (as
opposite to 1.12 eV for Si) which obviously will improve the energy resolving power. Ge may well become the material of
choice for the next stage of the large-scale development in semiconductor detectors. Similar to silicon, the Czochralski
technique for high purity crystalline Ge growth has already been developed [5], the basic processing techniques and
foundry services also exist. Ge Drift Detectors will require cooling to lower temperatures down to at least 90 K. However,
SEM compatible single-stage/low vibration pulse tube coolers, used with the bulk Lithium Compensated Si, can easily be
recycled for this applications.
Nuclear Electronics, as a scientific discipline, is not limited to just designing and performance verification of primary
sensors. It also involves other systemization topics such as equivalent circuits modelling the signal formation and noise
sources, low noise readout preamplifiers, multiplexing the large format sensor arrays, the optimum filtration maximizing
the signal-to-noise ratio, signal processing/recognition in analogue and digital forms, time measurement and triggering,
data acquisition, etc, as listed in Fig. p1. These topics will be presented in the subsequent Chapters 5 to 7.
Chapter 8 is dedicated to the systematization issues of the nuclear radiation spectrometers with emphasis on the ultra-low
temperature design. It will include topics like cooling techniques, magnetic shielding, front-end assembly packaging, col-
limation, windowing, the definition of the solid angle, X-ray optics, and specifics of microwave connectivity of the ULT/
room temperature interface.
Up to now the fundamental research in particle physics and astrophysics has driven progress in Radiation Detection.
Presently, however, we observe a definite shift of interest towards industrial applications (nano-material science,
biochemistry, medical imaging, environmental control, security, etc.). Among all types of low-temperature superconducting
detectors, the Superconducting Tunnel Junctions (STJs) and the Transition Edge Sensor (TES) quantum calorimeters are
the closest candidates for commercialization. Systems on their base have already demonstrated a sub 10 eV energy resolu-
tion FWHM (the full width at the half maximum) for 5.9 keV X-ray detection and up to 5 to 10 kcps counting speed. The
speed can be further improved by configuring them in a multiplexed architecture. The progress in the device multiplexabil-
ity was the most remarkable over the period between the two editions. The microwave frequency multiplexing of single-
junction quantum interferometers (μMUX) enables hundreds of detectors to be bundled to a single coaxial cable with a
bandwidth of 4 to 6 GHz provided by modern low noise HEMT preamps. The results of the new technology demonstrations
were so impressive that it is now being considered for building a space telescope with a hundred of thousands (yes 100,000!)
pixel array.
The overall performance of detector arrays is getting better as the technology becomes more mature [3]. The cryo-spectro-
meters have already gone through rigorous application tests. W. Doriese et al reported about twelve TES based detector
systems installed in large X-ray laser facilities for the synchrotron-based absorption/ emission spectroscopy and energy-
resolved scattering; accelerator-based spectroscopy of hadronic atoms and particle-induced-emission spectroscopy; labora-
tory-based time-resolved absorption and emission spectroscopy with a tabletop, broadband source; and laboratory-based
metrology of X-ray-emission lines [3]. M. Frank, et al, R. Wenzel et al have published results on the STJ performance as
ion detectors in the energy dispersive Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Time-Of-Flight mass spectrometry
(Maldi-TOF) in [6] and [7], respectively. A nearly 100% efficiency response to the detection of large mass particles has been
verified up to 1.5 MDa. The second generation of instruments will be upgraded with large-format arrays of cryogenic detec-
tors implementing a wide (4-6 GHz) bandwidth microwave frequency-division multiplexors. These systems should deliver
unprecedentedly high-quality spectra enabling new application areas for the MALDI-TOF, in particular, the critically
important fields like viral and bacterial research where these systems can generate analytical results with much-improved
productivity.
xiv Preface to the Second Edition
Laboratory tests confirmed the capability of superconducting detectors installed in all mentioned facilities to maintain
their high-performance potential and deliver exceptional quality information, which cannot be obtained with any other
techniques. Chapter 9 will be dedicated to the discussion of Low-Temperature Energy Dispersive and Maldi-TOF Spectro-
meters as well as outline some other potentially very interesting applications.
Another issue usually perceived as problematic is that the superconducting technology needs liquid cryogens to provide
the sub 1K temperature environment. The cryogenic part is associated with the higher maintenance cost, the necessity for
trained cryogenic personnel, boiling liquid and evaporating gas interfering with technological processes. The “dry” pulse-
tube coolers, now commercially available, solved the problem by eliminating cryogen liquids at all or by condensing and re-
circulating it on site. The cryogenics is fully computer-controlled. From the user’s perspective, the ULT instruments are
indistinguishable from their room temperature counterparts. This encourages the industries to gradually accept new super-
conducting detector technology and benefit from its extended capabilities.
To conclude the preface, one can predict with optimism that a new generation of exceptionally talented scientists, engi-
neers, and post-graduate students will be joining this challenging, but exciting scientific field either as system developers or
application/maintenance specialists. The major goal of this book is to bring all aspirants up to speed in the subject as quickly
and painlessly as possible. Particular effort was undertaken to make the overview possibly complete and self-contained so
that it could serve as a single information source on all important fundamental issues of Nuclear Electronics with Cryogenic
Quantum Detectors. Certainly, it was not feasible in practice to accommodate all developments in the field or go into a great
depth of each particular development in one book. Whereas the dedicated conference review manuscripts summarise often
the latest trends in the primary sensors, the system integration issues are usually scattered in multiple papers or have not
been addressed properly at all. An effort has been made to balance it. All publically available major materials on the
topic were analyzed, systemized, and existing gaps were filled using my personal technical experience or through
communications with colleagues. I would like to thank all of them heartily.
References
1 G. Lutz. Silicon drift and pixel devices for X-ray imaging and spectroscopy. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation 13, 99 (2006).
2 E. Kenik. Evaluating the performance of a commercial Silicon Drift Detector for X-ray microanalysis. Microscopy Today
May, 40 (2011).
3 W. Doriese, P. Abbamonte, B. Alpert, et al. A practical superconducting microcalorimeter X-ray spectrometer for beamline and
laboratory science. Review of Scientific Instruments 88, 053108 (2017).
4 A. Juengel. Transport Equations for Semiconductors. Springer, 2009.
5 G. Wang, H. Mei, D. Mei, Y. Guan, G. Yang. High purity crystal growth. Journal of Physics 606, 012012 (2015).
6 M. Frank, S. Labov, G Westmacott, H. Benner. Energy-sensitive cryogenic detectors for high-mass biomolecule mass
spectrometry. Mass Spectrometry Reviews 18, 155 (1999).
7 R. Wenzel, U. Matter, L. Schultheis, R. Zenobi. Analysis of megadalton ion using cryodetection MALDI time-of-flight mass
spectrometry. Anal. Chem. 77, 4329 (2005).
8 M. Palosaari, K. Kinnunen, J. Julin, et.al. TES for particle induced X-ray emission measurements. J. Low Temp. Phys. 176,
285 (2014).
9 S. Yamada, Y. Ichinoe, H. Tatsuno, et.al. Broadband high energy resolution hard X-ray spectroscopy using TES at Spring-8. Rev.
Sci.Instrum. 92, 013103 (2021).
xv
Preface to the First Edition
The nuclear electronics is often associated primarily with the fundamental research conducted in nuclear laboratories and
astrophysics. Yet many would be quite surprised to find out an extent it directly affects our everyday life. The food safety, the
security at airports, medical examinations, doping tests, forensic investigations and so on are all provided with the nuclear
analytical instrumentation. The technological advance in the life science, biology, ecology, medicine, semiconductors,
remote sensing and many others relay heavily upon the information which comes uniquely and, what is particularly impor-
tant, non-destructively from nuclear sensors. This information can be either a chemical composition of a material dealt
with, or a crystal or atomic structure, or the thickness of individual layers in a multilayer formation of a complex shape,
or the mass of molecules, or a DNA structure. The number of possible applications is wide and expanding rapidly almost on
a daily basis. Besides, even in traditional areas of the research and development specialists need to observe smaller features,
a lesser percentage of contaminations, etc., but, at the same time, scanning larger areas or volumes. Therefore, the nuclear
electronics as a discipline must continuously evolve in its search for new detection methods or more elaborate processing
techniques in order to deliver much needed systems with a better resolution, accuracy, reproducibility and the speed of
operation.
A big step in the radical advance of the nuclear analytical instrumentation will undoubtedly be the commercialisation of
cryogenic particle and radiation detectors. Leading representatives of these devices are the Superconducting Tunnel Junc-
tion (STJ) and quantum calorimeters. Both types have already demonstrated a sub 10 eV energy resolution FWHM (the full
width at the half maximum) at 5.9 keV (MnKα) as opposite to 125 eV achieved with the best semiconductor detectors. Initial
laboratory experiments have proven the new class of detectors to be very accurate, stable, adequately fast and well suited for
the high-density multipixel integration. The only disadvantage associated with the superconducting technology was a need
in liquid cryogens as the only means to ensure the sub 1 K temperature environment required for their operation. Besides
the inconvenience and the maintenance cost, the presence of a cryogen or its evaporated gas could interfere adversely with
some of technological processes which instruments were supposed just to monitor. A recent commercial introduction of
“dry” pulse-tube coolers, however, has addressed the problem and, in fact, changed priorities in the high precision nuclear
measurements. One can see that the industry started diverting a part of the development budget into advancing these new
technologies. Despite the extra cost associated with cryogenics, an added value such as a more than one order of magnitude
increase in resolving capabilities fully justifies it.
To summarise this brief preface, it is easy to predict that an increasing number of scientists, engineers and post-graduate
students is expected to be involved in the nuclear measurements based on cryogenic detectors who may wish to update or
refresh their skills on the subject. Whereas the information on sensors and the physics behind them is scattered in thousands
of papers, some system integration issues have not been addressed so far at all. The prime goal of this book is to systematise
the published material on the subject of interest and possibly fill in existing gaps. We will avoid reprinting complex expres-
sions of the microscopic superconductivity or the information theory. For those interested in gaining a deeper background
in these and some other relevant issues, appropriate references will be given throughout the book.
The book is primarily based on research which was done in collaboration with my colleagues at the Joint Institute for
Nuclear Research (Dubna), Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Berlin) and Thin Film Group of Oxford Instruments
(Cambridge) as well as a result of multiple discussions of the matter with my friends and colleagues from other institutions
worldwide. I would like to express my gratitude to all of them hoping the book will be useful in their further research.
1
Interaction of the Nuclear Radiation with Detector Absorbers
Introduction
Radiation sensors are intended for the qualitative detection of various elementary nuclear particles and, in many applica-
tions, measure their quantitative characteristic parameters, such as flux, energy distribution, position coordinates, timing
information, etc. The detection starts from a moment when an incoming particle interacts with the sensor’s active volume.
In some publications on the radiation measurements, the authors proceed directly to the down-conversion process trans-
forming deposited nuclear particle energy Ep into either a corresponding number of quasiparticles Nqp in nonthermal
devices or a temperature rise ΔT in thermal calorimeters in proportion to Ep. If that was true, detectors exposed to the mon-
ochromatic beam would be producing a single peak output on the energy spectrum centered at Ep. In practice, however, we
normally observe spectra enriched by excitations of secondary characteristic radiations, background events, escape or dou-
ble peaks, tales, etc. This enrichment is further superimposed by the incomplete charge collection due to various transport
loss mechanisms and sensor/readout noise. Very often, we have to apply quite complex mathematical models solving
inverse problems to restore energy and timing information of incoming nuclear particles. To do that efficiently, it is useful
to divide the detection process into four phases:
1) The primary nuclear reaction of a particle with the absorber matter, which will be the topic of the present chapter.
2) The energy down-conversion process generating a response in proportion to the energy deposited in the active volume.
3) The drift/diffusion of generated informative carriers toward the sensor collection electrodes.
4) The measurement process of a signal generated by a radiation absorber with one of the sensor types, e.g. the tunnel
junction, transition edge thermometer, kinetic inductance, semiconductor barrier, etc.
The down-conversion and transport in superconducting, semiconducting, and normal metal absorbers will be discussed
in the corresponding sections of Chapters 2, 3, and 4.
The quantum cryogenic sensors presented in this manuscript are capable to respond to practically all types of known
radiations: charged particles, optical photons from infrared to X-rays and γ-rays, and uncharged particles, e.g. neutrons
and weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Among these types, only electrons are capable to initiate and participate
directly in the energy down-conversion process through the inelastic electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions.
Detection techniques of other particles involve indirect energy cascades. In the indirect cascades, the primary interactions
liberate normally energetic atomic electrons (δ-ray), which further act as light charge particles creating on their path a meas-
urable amount of quasiparticles in a chain of secondary processes: ionization (semiconductors), or the Cooper electron
pair-breaking (superconductors), or hot-electron carrier generation (normal metal absorbers).
There are two basic energy exchange reaction mechanisms between the primary nuclear particles and target atoms: the
absorption and the inelastic scattering. The inelastic scattering events take place when incoming particles share their kinetic
energy with atomic and free electrons by electromagnetic interactions.
Figure 1.1.1 illustrates schematically the absorption process, in which an incident particle disappears completely captured
by the target matter. These interactions are more typical for the photon beams, although charged particles can equally be
absorbed in nuclear reactions to generate other types of secondary radiation. A photon entering the sensitive part of detec-
tors normally encounters and transfers electromagnetically all its energy Eph to an atomic photoelectron. Depending on a
Nuclear Electronics with Quantum Cryogenic Detectors, Second Edition. Vladimir Polushkin.
© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2022 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
2 1 Interaction of the Nuclear Radiation with Detector Absorbers
Incident particle
Target atom Recoiling
target
The pre-interaction The post-interaction

state state
Figure 1.1.1 Schematic representation of the nuclear particle absorption process.
value of Eph, the excited photoelectron can (i) raise to a higher bound state and generate secondary photons during the
relaxation process, (ii) leave atom completely (the ionization) and initiate/participate in the energy conversion, and
(iii) stay in the original bound state, but generate phonon particles that, in the case of superconductors, contribute to
the Cooper pair-breaking process or generate informative heat in normal metal calorimetric absorbers. The phenomenon
is often referred to as the photoelectric effect. We will return to it in Section 1.3.1.
As we mentioned earlier, some of charged particles and neutrons in the incident beams come very close to target nuclei
that may result in the nuclear particle reactions. One can distinguish between two types of nuclear reactions: (i) interaction
of incoming particles with nucleons and (ii) penetration of incoming particles into the target nuclei (the radiative capture).
Both nuclear reactions leave the recoil nuclei in an excited state, which subsequently relaxes by emitting new particles or/
and transmutation into different nuclear species. The secondary nuclear reaction products, i.e. photons and charged car-
riers, can be measured by radiation detectors. For that, they are built as “sandwiches” including nuclear reaction layers on
top of or in the middle of the sensing device absorber. Provided that the nature of nuclear reactions involved is known,
measurement data from the secondary sensor can be used to restore information about the primary particles of interest.
We will give more details on that in Section 1.3 when we talk about detecting neutrons and in Chapter 4 when we discuss
WIMP hybrid semiconductor – transition edge sensor (TES) detectors.
The scattering interactions are characterized by the fractional energy and/or momentum exchange between particles and
recoiling targets. In these interactions, particles themselves exist as independent objects before and after collisions. Some-
times, the absorption process of a particle by, e.g. nucleus, which is followed by subsequent expel of the same particle or
another similar particle, is also referred to as scattering.
Figure 1.1.2 demonstrates two types of scattering interactions. In the elastic scattering (Figure 1.1.2a), the total kinetic
energy of a particle and a participating target does not change before and after collisions. The collisions, in which the kinetic
energy is channeled down to the excitation of target atoms, are referred to as the inelastic scattering (Figure 1.1.2b). In both
cases, the strong Coulomb forces of target atoms divert the initial trajectory of collided particles by a succession of angles,
which are called the scattering angles.
With these basic definitions, we can now discuss selected aspects of primary nuclear reactions in more detail. The generic
scope of this topic is simply enormous. There are multiple nuclear physics manuscripts dedicated to it. A lot of useful quan-
titative information can be found, for instance, in the books and scientific papers on the particle probe analytical chemistry.
The modern computation power has brought the Monte Carlo simulation routine to every laboratory. The passage of
radiation through matter can now be modeled by dedicated particle physics software toolkits, like GEANT4 [1]. Modern
software is very advanced in terms of computation accuracy and input interface. It should take care of the majority of
possible nuclear reactions and interaction mechanisms. Still, the researchers and engineers must have a detailed under-
standing of models employed to give the right interpretations to the simulation results and make sure simulated data does
not under-/overshoot the expected ballpark values due to the code instability.
Section 1.1 will define the intrinsic quantum efficiency (IQE) of the radiation detectors. The following text will be struc-
tured around selected aspects of particle interaction with solid-state absorbers to characterize detectors in terms of the col-
lection efficiency, required geometry, transport mechanisms, etc. It is essential for the quantitative measurements with
radiation detectors to either contain the full energy deposited by an incoming beam or at least a well-known part of it
to be able to deliver accurate results. Section 1.2 will deal with charged particles. We will differentiate between the light
and heavy particles and define their penetration depth depending on their energies. Section 1.3 will focus on the photon
measurements. The detection of neutrons and WIMPs will be the subjects of Sections 1.4 and 1.5, respectively.
1.1 The Intrinsic Quantum Efficiency of Radiation Detectors 3
(a)
Recoiling target
Target atom
Incident
particle Scattering
angle
Ek2 = Ek1
Elastic
Ek1 scattering
Scattered
particle

state state
(b) Recoiling target

Target atom
Incident
particle Scattering
angle
Ek2 < Ek1
Ek1 Inelastic
scattering
Scattered
particle

state state
Figure 1.1.2 Two types of scattering interactions between the incoming particle and the target atom. (a) The kinetic energy of the
particle in the elastic scattering does not change before and after collisions. (b) In the inelastic scattering, the kinetic energy is partially
channeled toward the excitation or ionization of the atom.
1.1 The Intrinsic Quantum Efficiency of Radiation Detectors
The IQE can be defined in general terms as the percentage of incident nuclear particles that the absorber converts into
informative charge carriers sampled by sensing device [2]. For the first phase of the detection process, as outlined in
the Introduction earlier, the quantum efficiency (QE) is quantified by the intensity attenuation function and the incomplete
charge collection. The attenuation function is defined as
αATT = I t abs I 0 111
where I0 and I(tabs) represent intensities of the incident radiation beam and radiation passed through the absorber without
interaction, respectively, and tabs denotes the thickness of the absorber. By the intensity of radiation, we mean the number of
nuclear particles passing through a unit area per unit time (the beam current). The IQE depends on the type of radiation,
energy distribution in the beam, absorber material, and its geometrical dimensions.
Provided that each particle in the beam current transfers its energy in a single collision and then disappears (the absorp-
tion process), the intensity attenuation function takes the following form:
αATT = exp − t abs λabs = exp μabs t abs 112
where μabs is the absorption coefficient reciprocal to the linear attenuation factor λabs. Both μabs and λabs are tabulated for the
majority of materials utilized in radiation detectors (see, for instance [3]).
The majority of incoming charged particles tend to relax through multiple scattering events before they disappear from
the beam. Therefore, appropriate correction factors must be introduced in Eq. (1.1.2) to take into account the difference in
behavior. We will discuss these corrections in the following sections.
Passivation
layer
Sensitive
volume
Quasiparticle
clouds
Counts
Zero
peak Main peak
Low energy
tail
Energy
Figure 1.1.3 The low energy tail originated from the splitting of the quasiparticle energy down-conversion spheres between the
passivation/insulation layer and the sensitive volume of the absorber. The down-conversion processes located wholly in the passivation
and the sensitive volume contribute to the zero and main peaks, correspondingly.
The incomplete charge collection takes place in all three phases of the detection process. One mechanism, relevant to the
primary nuclear reaction (the phase 1 under consideration), relates to the splitting of electron clouds formed by the energy
down-conversion channels. The clouds get divided between the sensitive part of the absorber and the surface passivation or
the gate insulation layer. Figure 1.1.3 illustrates this mechanism. The interaction spheres located wholly in the sensitive
volume of the absorber contribute to the desirable main peak of the energy spectrum. Since the insulation materials have
large energy gaps, the passivation layer normally generates significantly fewer nonthermal quasiparticles than the absorber
material. Therefore, divided interaction spheres contain a partial amount of charge carriers. They contribute to the low
energy tail that needs to be minimized. The spheres situated entirely in the passivation layer tend to form near-zero peaks.
Concerning photons, their density absorbed by the passivation layer Nabs can be evaluated using (1.1.2) as
N abs = N ph 1 − exp μpl t pl 113
where Nph is the photon density in the original beam and μpl and tpl denote the absorption coefficient and thickness of the
passivation layer. Again, Eq. (1.1.3) should be adapted for the charged particle beams.
1.2 Detection of Charged Particles
As mentioned in the introduction, the inelastic collision of a charged particle with a valence electron in the target atom
results in either the direct ionization or excitation of the atom. The excitation may elevate bound electrons to higher energy
shells in the valence band, whereas the ionization removes at least one of them from the atom completely creating a free
electron–hole pair. In other words, direct ionization takes place if a charged particle transfers to the valence electron energy
that exceeds the ionization potential of the atom in the affected covalent bond (in the case of the covalent semiconductors).
The actual energy transfer is mediated by electromagnetic fields surrounding the interacting atoms. Due to the long range of
the electromagnetic forces (mainly the electric Coulomb force that decays as 1/r2, with r being the distance between par-
ticles), the ionizing interactions may occur even when the incident particle does not pass the target atom in close proximity.
The kinetic energy of freed electrons is estimated as
Eel = Et − Δ 121
where Et is the energy transferred to a valence electron as a result of the inelastic collision and Δ is the binding (or gap)
energy. Eel can be sufficient for the freed recoil electrons to initiate subsequent chains of excitation and ionization events.
Secondary electrons are essentially light-charged particles themselves with similar physics behind their relaxation process.
Charged particles
Light particles Heavy particles Super-heavy ions
Electrons Protons Heavy nuclei
Positrons Biomolecules and

α-Particles
microorganisms
β-Particles Mesons
Pions
Various light
nuclei
Figure 1.2.1 The classification of charged nuclear particles.
Charged particles with energies below the atom ionization potential can still produce a measurable amount of informative
quasiparticles through the phonon generating mechanism in the superconducting (athermal) and normal metal absorbers
attached to low-temperature detectors (thermal hot electrons).
Conditionally, all charged particles can be divided into three groups [4]. The first group comprises light particles, e.g.
electrons, β-particles, and positrons. The second group includes heavy-charged particles, such as protons, α-particles, heavy
ions, mesons. Super-heavy ionized biomolecular particles and microorganisms constitute their separate group. Figure 1.2.1
summarizes the classification in a diagram form. In the figure, we distinguish the electron from the β-particle to emphasize
its dual nature. The term “β-particle” refers to an electron specifically released from nuclei.
1.2.1 Light-Charged Particles

The inelastic collisions of light-charged particles with absorber media produce a series of characteristic radiations. These are
as follows:
– The secondary electrons;

– The Auger electrons;
– The diffracted electrons;
– The backscattered electrons;
– The characteristic X-rays;
– The bremsstrahlung (braking radiation);
– Others.
Figure 1.2.2 gives a schematic illustration of the primary and secondary volumes in which incoming charged nuclear
particles interact with a radiation detection absorber. The drawing also defines sub-volumes where specific nuclear reac-
tions generate each of the previously listed characteristic products. Calling the radiations’ “characteristic” means that they
contain important information about the physical properties and chemical composition of the target material. They are
fundamental for multiple nuclear analytical methodologies and tools used widely in electron microscopy, chemical analysis,
crystallography, medicine, radiometry, etc. The majority of these analytical instruments utilize the semiconductor and
superconductor radiation sensors, which we will discuss in the following chapters of this manuscript, due to their superior
performance specifications.
Electron beam
Auger electrons
Characteristic X-rays Secondary electrons
Backscattered electrons
Bremsstrahlung
Primary
interaction
volume Secondary
interaction
volume
Diffracted electrons
Transmitted electrons
Figure 1.2.2 A schematic visualization of primary and secondary volumes where the interaction of incoming charged nuclear particles
with radiation detection absorber takes place.
Since the cryogenic detectors demonstrate sensitivity to all types of radiations, the light-charged particles bombarding the
detection medium of sensors excite similar characteristic products in the absorber’s sensitive volume itself, as shown in
Figure 1.2.2. These excitations borrow energy from main informative peaks, give rise to additional (unwanted) peaks,
absorption minimums, low energy tails, backgrounds, and other traces in the radiation spectrometer output on the acquired
energy spectrum diagram. Therefore, a good understanding of all nuclear reactions in a particular absorber’s material of
choice is absolutely important for achieving high accuracy in the radiation measurements. Modeling the detector response
can assist in selecting the right absorber type, optimization of the overall detector design, and developing the appropriate
mathematical models to introduce corrections to the acquired raw data.
At the very beginning of the energy down-conversion cascade, the incident charged particles tend to lose their energy (if it
is above a few keV) mainly through the long-range collisions with target atoms and continuous radiation (bremsstrahlung).
Then, the quasiparticle generation process proceeds through multiple chains of the energy partitions between electron–
electron short-range and electron–phonon longer-range interactions. At the end of the relaxation process, the athermal
detector absorber should contain quasiparticles with an informative density Nqp that correlates with the energy deposited
by incident events. Various energy loss mechanisms, including all the characteristic radiation products plus the energy
stored in the phonon system at the end of the down-conversion, influence the major detector performance specifications,
e.g. εqp and F. Here, εqp is the average energy required to generate a single informative quasiparticle (often referred to as the
ionization potential in semiconductor detectors), and F denotes the Fano factor. εqp and F define the statistical intrinsic
energy resolution (see Chapter 2). Some of the characteristic radiations, especially bremsstrahlung, contribute significantly
to the background noise, further limiting the resolving power of detectors.
1.2.1.1 Attenuation Function for Charged Nuclear Particles

Now, we will give an estimate for the IQE of absorbers intended to capture the charged particles and transform their energy
into informative quasiparticles collected by the charge-sensitive preamp either directly or through the attached sensing
devices, e.g. superconducting tunnel junctions. As we mentioned before, charged particles undergo multiple elastic and
inelastic collisions, in which they correspondingly lose only fractions of their energies remaining in the beam for some time
(see Figure 1.2.3). The penetration depth for each particle varies, but, statistically, there exists an average propagation dis-
tance over the ensemble, which is usually referred to as the range, R. At the end of the straight-line length, R, particles are
assumed to be statistically relaxed to the thermal equilibrium. In terms of the quasiparticle response to the incoming
Np – Np(x)
Np
Penetrated
Incident
particles
particles
Interaction
volume
Figure 1.2.3 Penetration of particles into the interaction medium of a solid-state radiation detector.
charged particle itself, a specifically defined ionization range

can be of interest. The ionization range characterizes particle
trajectories from a point with an initial energy Ep to a point I(0)
where the particle relaxes to a threshold energy level of
The beam current
~3/2Δ so that one final scattering from the valence electron

removes it from the beam. The attenuation function can then
be approximated either by the shifted exponent, i.e.
I(0)/2
I = I0 at 0 < x < R
I = I 0 exp − x − R λabs at x > R 122
or the Gaussian function (see, for instance [5]). In the latter
case, R represents the mean value of the distribution at the half
maximum, as shown in Figure 1.2.4. A statistical distribution R (mean range) x
of R is often referred to as the range struggling.
Figure 1.2.4 Radiation intensity as a function of the charged
For simplified ballpark evaluations, one can use a semiem- particle penetration depth. R represents the mean penetration
pirical formula for the mean range given by [4]: range of the radiation.
Ep
−1
dE
R E p = R E min + dE 123
dx
Emin
In this equation, Emin is the minimum energy at which the Bethe–Bloch theoretical modeling is valid. For incoming charged
particles with energies above a few keV, the Bethe–Bloch formula for the linear energy transfer as a function of the pen-
etration depth, x, is given by [5]
dE Z 1 e2k ek + 2 C
≈ 2πN a r 2e me c2 ρ ln + F ek − δ − 2 124
dx inel A β2 Ip 2 Z
2
me c2
with Na being the Avogadro number, A and ρ are the atomic mass and density of the detection medium, Z is the atomic
number, re = 2.817 × 10−13 cm is the classical electron radius, me = 9.108 × 10−31 kg is the rest mass of an electron, c is the
v Ek
velocity of light, β = , ek = denote the dimensionless reduced velocity and the kinetic energy of the incident
c me c2
particle, respectively, Ip is the mean excitation potential, and δ, C represent the density and shell correction factors. Since the
masses of interacting objects in the inelastic scattering are almost the same (not true for relativistic particles), the maximum
energy transfer per collision cannot exceed half of the kinetic energy of the incident charged particle. Thus, the function
F(ek) takes the following forms:
a) For electrons and β-particles,

e2k
− 2ek + 1 ln 2
F ek = 1 − β2 + 8 125
ek + 1 2
b) For positrons,
β2 14 10 4
F ek ≈ 2 ln 2 − 23 + + 2 + 3 +… 126
12 ek + 2 ek + 2 ek + 2
For those who prefer even simpler solutions, an empirical expression has been derived for a case of E > Emin [6, 7]:
2 76 10 − 2 AE 0 1 67
R μm ≈ 127
ρZ 0 89
Equation (1.2.7) provides adequate accuracy for the detector efficiency evaluation in an energy range of 10–1000 keV.
For light-charged particles with energies 10 eV < Ep < 10 keV, the total number of collisions per particle is insufficient to
justify the usage of the Bethe–Bloch statistical formalism. The energy loss in solids can be estimated using the Lindhard
dielectric response of a medium to a passing particle transferring its kinetic energy ℏω and changing its momentum by
ℏk on its way [8, 9]. The mean range for continuous energy loss from Ep ~ 10 keV to 10 eV is given by [10]:
Ep
1
R Ep = dE 128
SE
10 eV
where S(E) is the energy loss per unit path length or stopping power of the absorber material. Calculated R(Ep) and S(E) for
58 elemental materials including those that are normally used in radiation detectors are published in Tanuma et al. [11, 12].
Figure 1.2.5 gives an example of the mean range as a function of charged particle energy R(Ep) in a range from 50 eV to 5 keV
calculated using data from Tanuma et al. [11].
An average nucleus diameter is only a 10−5 fraction of the
atom size. The remaining volume is occupied by the orbital
electrons (electron gas). This implies that the probability
for a charged particle to interact with a nucleus in the
Room temperature
close-range collision (nuclear reaction) is much smaller
compared with the probability of interaction with valence
Approximation range (nm)
100
electrons. For silicon, scatterings from the valence elec-
trons represent the major loss mechanism at the electron
energies from 10 eV to 10 keV. Below 10 eV, ionization col-
Silicon
lision rate drops exponentially reaching a value of 5 × 1010
s−1 at 2 eV. Further relaxation is dominated by the fast ine- 10
lastic electron–phonon interactions.
It is important to reemphasize again that these computa-
tions are normally performed with dedicated design/simu-
lation tools. Giving these equations, we are not trying to
advocate performing calculations in the old-fashioned 1
style. We rather highlight the point that all simulation tools 101 102 103
employ specific models that have their limitations. Engi- Electron energy (eV)
neers can only rely on them if all issues complicating the Figure 1.2.5 A plot of the mean range as a function of charged
analysis and the applicability of built-in models for achiev- particle energy R(Ep) in a range from 50 eV to 5 keV calculated using
ing correct results are well understood. data from Tanuma et al. [11].
1.2.2 The Continuous “Braking” Radiation

(Bremsstrahlung) Kramer’s law
The long-range Coulomb forces of nuclei exert a strong influence

on charged particle tracks. Even elastic scattering events affect
Intensity
detector quantum efficiency. They divert particles from their Bremsstrahlung
original direction causing bremsstrahlung or backscattering of
particles from the detector absorber. The interaction volume also Duane–hunt
emanates Auger electrons created as a result of the inelastic colli- limit
sions near the entrance window region (Figure 1.2.2). Emax
The charged particles decelerate primarily through the deflec-
tion by the nucleus’s strong electric field (although the screen- Photon energy
ing effect from valence electrons also plays its part in the
Figure 1.2.6 The distribution function of continuum
process). A deflected particle loses some of its kinetic energy photons caused by bremsstrahlung.
that is emitted as a breaking photon, i.e. hv = Ep(before)
−Ep(after). Here, hv is the energy of the photon and Ep(before) and Ep(after) denote the particle kinetic energy before
and after the deflection.
Free electrons and positrons do not have discrete allowed energy levels. Therefore, the “braking” radiation has a contin-
uous energy spectrum extending from near-zero to the maximum energy of incoming charged particles minus the binding
energy Δ of the absorber material. Since the emitted deceleration photons generate an increasing number of free carriers
with progressively smaller energies, their continuum distribution function has a shape as shown in Figure 1.2.6. The curve
was derived from the Kramer’s equation for the intensity in photons per second per unit energy interval per incident elec-
tron [13]:
Ep − E
N brem E = 2 × 10 − 9 Z 129
E
where E is an energy of interest.

The partition of the total stopping power of the material dE dE dE
dx Σ between dx col due to inelastic collisions and dx brem due to
bremsstrahlung varies with energy. In the low energy range, particles tend to relax mostly via inelastic scattering from atom
electrons, i.e. dE
dx Σ
dE
dx coll. At very high energies, the energy loss is dominated by bremsstrahlung, i.e. dx Σ
dE dE
dx brem.
Contributions from both mechanisms must be taken into account for charge particles accelerated to intermediary energies.
There is a crossover energy Ec at which these contributions become equal, dE dE
dx coll = dx brem. For the interaction of electrons
with semiconductors, a crossover point Ec ~ few tens of MeV.
Bremsstrahlung manifests itself as a background continuum on the energy spectrum histogram. An example of such a
diagram experimentally obtained from the pure bulk silicon is shown in Figure 1.2.7. The X-ray attenuation at low
energies seemingly opposes the Kramer’s function. In reality,
this results from photon absorption by matter. These photons
exist but simply do not reach the detector measuring the X-ray Characteristic
X-ray
Counts per channel
irradiation. To demonstrate the intensity of the braking radia- Si Kα

104
tion, Figure 1.2.7 also includes a strong Si Kα characteristic peak.
One can see that a part of the peak is smeared. The background
continuum may mask completely some of the lower-intensity 103
signals generated by the measured radiation. It also complicates Duane–hunt
the separation of closely spaced peaks on the energy spectrum. 102 limit
Both problems become particularly serious in the low-energy Bremsstrahlung Emax
region. 101
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Photon energy (keV)
1.2.3 Backscattering of Charged Particles
Figure 1.2.7 Bremsstrahlung manifests itself as
The deflection of charged particles from their original directions background continuum on the energy spectrum histogram.
by the Coulomb forces of nuclei with strong field gradients Low energy attenuation as opposite to the Kramer’s function
has other implications on the detection process besides is due to the photon absorption by matter.
Particle escape
(a) (b)
By deflection By backscattering
Figure 1.2.8 (a) A large-angle scattering event near the edge diverts an
incoming particle out of the detection volume before its relaxation has been
completed. (b) The backscattering effect when the total deflection angle
becomes larger than π/2, so that the particle is ejected back from the
detector front surface.
bremsstrahlung. Multiple elastic interactions shape propagation paths into meander-like forms that increase the interaction
volume and can move it toward surfaces with a large density of trapping states. A large-angle scattering event near the edge
can divert an incoming particle out of the detection volume before its relaxation has been completed (or even started).
Figure 1.2.8a illustrates this case. A succession of several elastic collisions may lead to the backscattering effect. It happens
when the total deflection angle becomes larger than π/2 so that the particle is ejected back from the entrance window of the
detector. The backscattering effect is illustrated in Figure 1.2.8b. Free electrons produced by the ionization process can also
escape from the detector as the secondary and Auger electrons. To be able to leave the detection volume, their energies need
to be larger than the surface work function, Fw, of the surface material (or materials if the entrance window contains several
layers). By convention, only electrons with energies below 50 eV emitted from a depth less than 1 nm are referred to as
secondary. They are distinguished from others, more energetic electrons that can come out from a depth up to 50 nm.
The backscattering process is normally quantified by the backscattering coefficient, which represents the fraction of the
total number of incident particles that the detector emits back from the front surface to, i.e.
ηbs = I bs I 0 1 2 10
The coefficient depends on the atomic number of the medium. For all elemental materials used as radiation absorbers, ηbs
increases as the particle energies become lower. High energy particles tend to penetrate deeply into the medium (R > 50 nm)
where even scattered at high angles they can be reabsorbed efficiently by the lattice.
The backscattering of particles out of the detection volume before they have relaxed to below Δ leads to the charge col-
lection deficit. It affects the low energy quantum efficiency of detectors. In addition, the incomplete charge collection marks
its presence through the shift and broadening of major informative peaks on the energy histogram. It also adds spurious
peaks and voids to the bremsstrahlung continuum.
1.2.4 Heavy-Charged Particles

The class of heavy-charged particles incorporates all elementary particles with masses exceeding the electron mass, i.e. pro-
tons, α-particles, muons, pions, light nuclei, etc. The principle behind their interaction physics with solid-state absorbers is
similar to that of electrons and positrons that we analyzed in Section 1.2.1. Thus, in addition to what was discussed, we only
need to introduce some quantitative corrections into equations describing the energy channeling process.
M
The initial velocity of a heavy-charged particle is approximately me times lower than the velocity of the electron with the
same energy (M is the mass of a heavy particle under consideration). This reduction in the velocity extends the interaction
time between particles and atoms, which leads to increased energy loss per collision. The valence electrons of interacting
target atoms have enough time to acquire energy close to a maximum value that is evaluated as [14]
2me c2 η2
Emax = 1 2 11
1 + 2s 1 + η2 + s2
me 1
where s = , η = βγ, γ = . More efficient inelastic scatterings have two positive consequences for detector
M 1 − β2
designers: (i) the range of heavy-charged particles becomes shorter and (ii) better defined at the same time (reduced the
range struggling).
Provided that β > 0.1, the Bethe–Bloch equation for the linear energy transfer has the following modified form [4]:
dE Z z2 2me γ 2 v2 Emax C
− = 2πN a r 2e me c2 ρ ln − 2β2 − δ − 2 1 2 12
dx A β2 I 2p Z
where z is the charge of an incident particle in units of elementary electron charge, e0.
Statistically, equally charged particles experience an average Coulomb deceleration force from nuclei, F b . This force is
responsible for the braking radiation dE dx brem . The deceleration, d, is inversely proportional to the square of the particle
2
Fb dE
mass, M, i.e. d M . This means that the relative contribution of dx brem to the total stopping power reduces in propor-
tion to M12 as well. In other words, the inelastic scattering from valence electrons is the major energy loss mechanism for
heavy-charged particles in a solid-state medium in the energy range up to a few GeV:
dE dE
≈ 1 2 13
dx Σ dx coll
Intuitively, the path of a heavy particle in the matter should be less perturbed by large-angle deflections compared with
me
that of electrons or positrons. Indeed, collisions, in which particles can lose 4 fraction of their energy as a maximum,
M
cannot incur any substantial scattering angle. The average scattering angle by the Coulomb forces from nuclei also has a
downward trend in proportion to the square of the particle mass multiplied by the screening effect from surrounding
electrons.
1M
A quasi-straight track, the reduced mean free path (reciprocal to the number of collisions per unit length in
4 me
total during the particle passage), and a better-defined energy loss rate per collision enable the range to be predicted with a
very good accuracy using simple analytical expressions. Plots in Figure 1.2.9 present ranges of α-particles and protons in
comparison with the electron ranges for Si (a) and Ge (b) absorbers. Similar plots for these particles in detector-sensitive
volumes made of other materials can be evaluated following the empirical Bragg–Kleeman rule [15]:
ρSi Adet
Rdet = RSi 1 2 14
ρdet ASi
where Rdet, ρdet, and Adet denote the range, density, and atomic weight of a detector medium of interest and RSi, ρSi, and ASi
are the respective values for Si. In the case of compound material, Adet denotes an effective atomic weight, which is
defined as
2
η1 A1 + η2 A2
Adet = 1 2 15
η1 A1 + η2 A2
where η1 and η2 are the atomic fractions of chemical elements in the compound with atomic weights A1 and A2.
(a) (b)
104 Si detector Protons

Ge detector
103
Protons
103
Range (μm)
Range (μm)
102
102
Electrons α-Particles
Electrons α-Particles
101 101
0.01 0.10 1.00 10.00 0.1 1.0 10.0

Particle energy (Mev) Particle energy (Mev)
Figure 1.2.9 Range of heavy particles as a function of their energy for Si (a) and Ge (b).
Some low-energy particles charged positively (including those that lost their energy in collisions) can attract free electrons
from the medium for some period of time and, thereby, using their screening effect propagate much deeper in the absorber
as a quasi-neutral particle. This may result in the charge collection deficit if particles leave the interaction volume before the
thermalization process is completed. The phenomenon is particularly pronounced in the normal metal and superconduct-
ing absorbers. In semiconductor detectors, interaction volumes are depleted of free carriers. Therefore, positive charge par-
ticles can only attract electrons unbounded as a result of their inelastic scattering events. This means that the phenomenon
is influenced by the energy of incoming particles and the beam intensity.
1.3 Primary Interactions of X- and γ-Ray Photons with Solid-State Absorbers
The dual nature of matter becomes particularly evident when we deal with the light. Infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays,
and γ-rays demonstrate wavelike phenomena such as interference, diffraction, and polarization. At the same time, we treat
them as photon particles (i.e. packets of electromagnetic waves), to explain the following quantum mechanical effects:
1) The photoelectric effect;

2) The Compton scattering;
3) The pair production.
These effects represent the major interaction mechanisms between photons and absorber materials. They also constitute the
base for the X- and γ-ray detection methodologies. Since photons have no charge, the listed above three effects initiate indi-
rect ionization energy cascades by the ejection of energetic primary photoelectrons. After that, the primary photoelectrons
start participating in the energy down-conversion process similar to the process initiated by the light-charged particles dis-
cussed in Section 1.2. In this respect, there is no need to repeat the analysis of the complete interaction routine. We will focus
primarily on the primary nuclear reaction mechanisms.
1.3.1 Photoelectric Effect

The photoelectric effect takes place at the absorption collisions between incoming photons and target atoms. At the first
collision, photons tend to transfer all their energies Ex and momentums Mph to the target atoms and disappear from the
beam. The absorbed photon energy is then forwarded to one of the bound electrons, whereas the nucleus captivates the
recoil momentum, as shown in Figure 1.3.1a. Provided that the condition Ex > Ej holds, the atom ejects a photoelectron
with kinetic energy given by
Ee = Ex − E j 131
where Ej is the binding energy of the jth shell.

Figure 1.3.1b shows the case of Ex >> Ek when the outgoing electron leaves the inner K shell of the atoms. This energetic
photoelectron initiates a subsequent ionization (or the pair breaking in a case of superconducting absorber) energy cascades.
The remaining two diagrams of Figure 1.3.1c,d illustrate the de-excitation process in the atom in which the electron struc-
ture rearranges itself to occupy the lowest energy states available. The transitions from L shell to K shell and from M shell to
L shell are followed by emission of characteristic X-rays with the following energies:
Ex = Ek − El 132
Ex = El − Em 133
The characteristic X-rays may participate in their own photoelectric interactions followed by corresponding down-
conversion processes. This means that a radiation detector exposed to a monochromatic X- and γ-ray beam produces an
energy spectrum enriched by multiple peaks from characteristic X-ray emissions. The overall energy of these peaks together
with other artifacts discussed in Section 1.2 is borrowed from the main informative peak at the photon energy Ex. To improve
measurement accuracy the borrowed energy deficit needs to be returned back to the Ex line by applying appropriate cor-
rection factors derived, e.g., from the Monte Carlo modeling.
The chain of possible photoelectric events lasts until energies of remaining photons and energetic quasiparticles become
insufficient to free inner shell valence electrons. If the photoelectric effect is the only primary interaction mechanism
(a) (b)
Incoming photon: Free electron:
Ex = hν Ee = hν – Ek
M M
L L
K K
(c) Characteristic (d) Characteristic

photon: photon:
M Ex = Ek – EI M Ex = El – Em
L L
K K
Figure 1.3.1 The shell diagrams illustrating X-ray photon interaction with the target atom through the photoelectric effect. (a) The
photon transferring all its energy to the k-shell electron; (b) the electron with kinetic energy Ex − Ek vacates the k-shell of the atom; (c and
d) the electron structure rearrangement with the characteristic X-rays emissions.
between photons and the medium, the combined energy of Counts

photoelectrons approaches very close to the energy of incom-
Photoelectric
ing particles, i.e.
effect
EeΣ ≈ Ex 134
Equation (1.3.4) represents the necessary condition that defines

the accuracy of solid-state radiation detectors with regard to
X- and γ-ray measurements [16]. A generic example of a cor-
rected photoelectric spectrum is presented in Figure 1.3.2.
More information on mathematical modeling of the photon
interaction with matter can be found in literature discussing
the X-ray probe analysis techniques and description of the EeΣ ≈ Ex Energy
specialized simulation software, e.g. GEANT4.
Figure 1.3.2 An energy spectrum representing the corrected
primary photoelectric effect.
1.3.2 Compton Scattering
Scattered kp
The photoelectric effect is more common for relatively low- photon
energy X-rays. In the middle of the X- and γ-ray energy range, Ep
some of the incoming photons relax via inelastic scatterings
from outer loosely coupled atomic electrons. The phenome-
kγ ϕ
non is named after Arthur H. Compton who was the first
to observe and explain it in 1923 [17]. Figure 1.3.3 illustrates
Eγ θ
the essence of the Compton scattering mechanism.
Let us assume that an electron with a mass me rests just ke
Recoil
before the interaction event. Then, an incident photon with electron
energy Eγ and momentum kγ collides with the electron. This Ee
results in the electron recoiling with an energy Ee and Figure 1.3.3 A schematic representation of the Compton
momentum ke and the photon scattered into a new state with scattering.
energy Ep and momentum kp. The conservation law of the Counts

energy and momentum given by
Photoelectric
Eγ = Ee + Ep 135 effect
kγ = ke + k p 136
suggest that the photon is scattered with a reduced energy Compton

Ep < Eγ or increased wavelength λp > λγ (according to the scattering
Planck relation: E = h λc, with h being the Planck constant
and c is the light velocity). Compton discovered that the
wavelength shift corresponds to
λp − λγ = λc 1 − cos θ 137 Compton EeΣ Energy
edge
where λc = h
me c is the Compton wavelength.
Figure 1.3.4 The Compton continuum on the energy spectrum
Combining all three equations (1.3.5)–(1.3.7), the kinetic
diagram.
energy of the recoil electron takes the following form:
E2γ 1 − cos θ
Ee = 138
me c2 + Eγ 1 − cos θ
The scattering angle θ can be of any value from 0 to π. Therefore, a solid-state detector exposed to middle range X- and γ-rays
will yield an energy spectrum that should look like a continuum extending from the zero line to the Compton edge.
Figure 1.3.4 gives an illustration of the energy spectrum including the Compton continuum. The Compton edge corresponds
to the maximum energy imparted from the backscattered incoming photon to the recoil electron (θ = π), which is given by
2E2γ
Emax
e = 139
c2
me + 2Eγ
Unless the Compton scattering is informative (i.e. used as a detection method characterizing properties of incoming par-
ticles), it tends to degrade the detector performance. The continuum can mask low-intensity peaks in the range where it is
pronounced and have a significant impact on the intensities and positions of photoelectric peaks borrowing energy from
down-conversion channels that otherwise would contribute to the intensity of photoelectric lines in the histogram. On the
positive side, the Compton scattering mechanism is well understood and quantified to very high accuracy. Modern quantum
microscopic models are capable to deliver a set of high precision spectrum correction factors to reduce its influence on the
final measurement result if necessary.
It is worth mentioning that in general the Compton effect may manifest itself in a more sophisticated form compared with
the classical representation by Eq. (1.3.7). Depending on the material, the spectrum continuum can take various shapes and
contain multiple peaks originating from associated subtle effects. We will not go deeply into this topic. Numerous dedicated
papers and manuscripts discuss it in great detail. For example, interested readers can find a good overview of the subject
in [18, 19].
The design and simulation tools should also incorporate more inclusive quantum mechanical models compared to
Eq. (1.3.7). For a good accuracy of the analysis, it would be useful to take into consideration more realistic initial conditions,
for instance, the fact that the atom electrons are not resting before and during the interaction events. Incoming photons
interact rather with the plasma electron cloud around the target atoms (quasiparticles) rather than with standalone elec-
trons. This means that excited quasiparticles can also transfer their kinetic energy to the low-energy photons and boost their
energy levels. In this case, the right side of Eq. (1.3.7) takes the opposite sign implying that the wavelength of the outgoing
photon becomes shorter. This phenomenon is also known as the inverse Compton scattering. For instance, infrared photons
in collisions with relativistic electrons can be boosted well back into the X-ray region. The inverse Compton scattering also
influences the detector performance. Some of the interaction electrons with E > Eg restore ionization (pair breaking) capa-
bility of low energy photons, which otherwise would “quietly” relax through the phonon system. These boosted photons add
counts to the background continuum in a way similar to bremsstrahlung.
1.3.3 The Pair Production

The pair production refers to the transformation of photons into the electron–positron pairs in the Coulomb field of nuclei.
The transformation is illustrated in Figure 1.3.5.
The minimum energy required for this effect to take place is derived Eγ
– mec2
from the mass and energy conservation law, i.e. 2
e+
positron
2m2e c2
Eγ ≥ 2me c2 + 1 3 10
mn
where mn is the mass of the target nucleus, 2mec2 is the combined rest Nucleus
mass–energy of the electron–positron pair. In practice, mn me, which mn
Eγ
enables the condition (1.3.10) to be rewritten in a simplified form as
e–
Eγ > 2me c2 1 3 11 electron
Eγ
The excess energy Eγ − 2mec2 is divided equally between the freed elec- 2
– mec2
tron and positron. With this energy, both particles, if they stay inside the
detector absorber volume, continue participating in the relaxation proc- Figure 1.3.5 The pair production process. An
incoming photon is transformed into the electron–
ess similar to light-charged particles as discussed in Section 1.2.
positron pair in the Coulomb field of the nucleus.
The lifetime of the positron is quite short. Within 1 ns it is usually cap-
tured by electron clouds. Two anti-particles annihilate with the emission
of two mec2 photons in opposite directions. The process of the annihila-
tion and reconversion into photons is illustrated in Figure 1.3.6a,b,
respectively. The annihilation photons either relax in the interaction (a)
with medium electrons by the Compton and photoelectric processes
or escape from the detection volume altogether. A spectral response
example of the radiation detector exposed to high-energy γ-ray photons
is presented in Figure 1.3.7. It contains three photoelectric peaks. The
single escape and double escape peaks correspond to cases when one e– e+
and both respective annihilation photons deposited all their energies Electron Positron
in the detection volume through the photoelectric nuclear reaction.
(b)
1.3.4 Attenuation of Photon Radiation in Solid-State
Detector Absorbers
mec2 mec2
Let us consider a case when the parallel beam of monoenergetic photons
penetrates a detector absorber of a thickness, x, as shown in Figure 1.3.8.
A fraction of incoming photons interacts with the medium, so that the
intensity of the transmitted beam, I, is smaller than the intensity of Photon Photon
the incident beam, I0. If the energy absorption occurs by either the pho-
toelectric effect or the pair production, photons transfer all their energy Figure 1.3.6 The process of electron–positron
and disappear from the beam on their first interaction. In this case, annihilation (a) and reconversion into photons (b).
Eq. (1.1.2) describes the transmission adequately. It can be rewritten
in terms of beam intensities as follows:
I = I 0 e − μΣ x 1 3 12
where μΣ is the total linear attenuation coefficient. By definition, the total linear attenuation coefficient combines the indi-
vidual attenuation coefficients for photoelectric, pair production processes, and the Compton scattering, i.e.
μΣ = μph + μpp + μC 1 3 13
In doing so, however, one needs to remember that the Compton scattering does not remove a photon from the beam in a
single collision. Similar to charged particles, photons relaxing via the Compton mechanism alone would have to be char-
acterized by the range function similar to the charged particle treatment.
The interaction of particles with matter is often tabulated in terms of the individual or total cross sections. The cross
section is defined as the interaction probability per target atom. Its relation to the linear attenuation coefficient is given by
Na Counts
μΣ = ρσ 1 3 14
A Σ
Double Full energy
where σ Σ = σ ph + σ pp + σ C, σ ph, σ pp, and σ C represent indi- escape peak
peak Single
vidual cross sections of the photoelectric, pair production,
escape
and Compton processes, respectively. peak
1.4 Detection of Neutrons with Solid-

State Radiation Sensors
Eγ – 2mec2 Eγ – mec2 Eγ Energy
The neutron is a fundamental particle with a mass of 1
amu, which equals approximately to the rest mass of Figure 1.3.7 A typical spectral response of radiation detectors
1839 electrons. The particle is electrically neutral and, exposed to high energy photons initiating the pair production
therefore, not capable to directly ionize atoms via long- events. The histogram contains three photoelectric peaks. The
single escape and double escape peaks correspond to cases when
range Coulomb forces. Instead, penetrating the matter, it one and both annihilation photons escape from the detection
undergoes short-range interactions with atomic nuclei volume without interactions, respectively.
(nuclear reactions). For non-relativistic neutrons, one can
distinguish three major types of nuclear reactions. These
are as follows:
1) The absorption of neutrons by nuclei;
2) The elastic scatterings from nuclei;
3) The inelastic scatterings.
Intensity
In the scattering collisions, the neutron imparts only a I
Intensity
fraction of its energy and, thus, may interact with multiple I0
target nuclei on its track. The nucleus converts the excita-
tion energy received from the neutron into some form of
radiative emission, e.g. X-ray, γ-ray photons, charged par-
ticle. If the thickness of the absorber permits, the reaction
chain lasts until the particle either has been captured by a Interaction
volume
nucleus or disintegrates into a proton, β-particle, and neu-
trino at the end of its lifetime.
The total cross section (or the probability for particles to
x
interact with the detector sensitive volume) includes all
cross sections responsible for each nuclear reaction mech- Figure 1.3.8 The interaction of a photon radiation beam with the
anism, i.e. [4] solid-state absorber. I0 and I represent the incoming and transmitted
beam currents.
σ abs = σ capture + σ elastic + σ inelastic 141
It depends strongly on the kinetic energy, Ek (or velocity, v) of neutrons in the beam. For instance, the absorption probability
increases in proportion to the time duration it spends in the close proximity (~10−15 m) with nuclei, i.e.
1 1
σ abs 142
v Ek
This type of nuclear reaction is likely to be dominating for slow neutrons with Ek < 1 eV, while fast neutrons with
Ek > 100 keV tend to transfer their energy predominantly via scattering mechanisms until they become moderated to an
energy Ek < 1 eV.
Figure 1.4.1 presents a more complete classification of possible nuclear reaction types between neutrons and nuclei. The
four mechanisms added to the absorption and elastic/inelastic scatterings make significant contributions for high energy
(relativistic) particles. We will not be discussing them in this manuscript. Interested readers can find detailed information in
specialized literature, e.g. [20].
Neutron interaction
Slow+fast Fast
neutrons neutrons
Absorptive reactions Scattering reactions
Charge particle (n,α), (n,β), (n,p) Neutron–proton collision
Photons (n,γ)
Fission products
Figure 1.4.1 The classification of nuclear reactions between neutrons and nuclei.
Following Figure 1.4.1, all interaction events result in the emission of charged particles or γ photons, or fission fragments
(heavy-charged particles), or a combination of them. This means that solid-state radiation detectors can be used indirectly,
i.e. to map the reaction products in space and time as well as to measure their energy distributions. Processing all this infor-
mation and solving relevant inverse problems restores the microscopic dynamics of reactions. The dynamics, in its turn,
enables the derivation of characteristics parameters of the incoming neutron flux, such as its intensity, energy distribution,
timing, etc.
Neutron absorbers can be fabricated out of various materials, such as filling gases, solid-state thin-film coatings, foils, etc.
However, most often solid-state-sandwiched detectors incorporate stable isotopes with a high conversion efficiency of neu-
tron energy into charge (or fission fragments, γ-rays). The stable isotopes of practical devices facilitate usually two absorbing
nuclear reactions [19]. These are 10B(n,α)7Li and 6Li(n,α)3Η.
10
1.4.1 B(n,α)7Li Nuclear Reaction
The interaction of a neutron with 10B is shown schematically in Figure 1.4.2. On the neutron absorption, two charged par-
ticles are released in the opposite directions, i.e.
10
B+n 7
Li 0 840 MeV + α 1 470 MeV
143 7Li(1.015 MeV) α-Particle
(1.77 MeV)
which accounts for approximately 93.7% of nuclear
reactions with thermal neutrons (Ek = 0.0259 eV) or
Neutron 10B
10B
10
B+n 7
Li 1 015 MeV + α 1 777 MeV
144
generated in the remaining 6.3% of reactions. 7Li(0.840 7Li(0.84 MeV) α-Particle

MeV) ions are born originally in the initial excited state. (1.47 MeV)
Very quickly (fractions of picoseconds), they relax to the γ-Photon
(480 keV)
stable ground state by emitting γ photons with an
energy of 0.48 MeV. Figure 1.4.2 10
B(n, α)7Li and 10
B(n, γ)7Li nuclear reactions.
6
3H(2.73 MeV) 1.4.2 Li(n,α)3Η Nuclear Reaction
This nuclear reaction is illustrated in Figure 1.4.3. On
Neutron 6Li
absorption of a neutron, two different charged particles
6Li
are released in the opposite directions, i.e.
6
Li + 10 n 3
H 2 73 MeV + α 2 05 MeV
145
α-Particle
This reaction is preferred when a detector of choice can
(2.05 MeV)
demonstrate an extended efficiency in stopping longer-
Figure 1.4.3 Li(n, α) H nuclear reaction.
6 3 range α-particles due to their higher energy: 2.05 MeV,
as opposite to 1.47 MeV in the 10B reaction. In general,
the intended application type governs decisions on the absorber material, detection method, sensor geometry, etc. Similar
to sensors measuring other nuclear particles, the neutron detectors are also optimized for achieving the best possible detec-
tion efficiency, signal-to-background ratio, timing, and spatial resolution.
The attenuation function of the monoenergetic and monodirectional neutron flux in the detection media can be approxi-
mated by [4]
I = I 0 e − μabs x 146
where I0 is the intensity of the incoming beam, μabs is the attenuation coefficient given by the sum of the individual atten-
uation coefficients
N a ρ̱
μabs = μcapture + μelastic + μinelastic = σ abs 147
A
Here, σ abs represents the cross sections of the absorber material as defined by Eq. (1.4.1). As we mentioned earlier in com-
menting Eq. (1.4.2), the absorption cross section is energy dependent. The energy dependence can be approximated by the
following relationship [20]:
E0
σ abs E = σ abs E0 148
E
where σ abs(E0) is a known absorbing cross section at some energy E0.
On top of the monotonous functionality given by Eq. (1.4.8), the total cross section exhibits resonance peaks when ener-
gies of incoming neutrons come close to the energy levels available for occupation in the target nuclei.
In practice, the attenuation function may deviate significantly from the form defined by Eq. (1.4.6) due to various reasons.
Some of them are listed as follows:
1) Incoming neutron fluxes are rarely monoenergetic. To accommodate the energy distribution, Eq. (1.4.7) should include
the macroscopic cross sections averaged across the whole energy range of particles in the beam.
2) Elastic scatterings from nuclei do not remove particles from the beam, but just redistribute the neutron density nn(Ek),
increasing the spectral density content at lower kinetic energies.
3) Neutrons can be scattered in directions other than the direction of the beam flow so that one has to deal with the total
fluctuating neutron flux rather than the monodirectional constant neutron current.
4) The possible influence of edge effects, bearing in mind that the neutron beam cannot be focused to a very small diameter.
More precise expressions for the attenuation function can be found in specialized literature, for instance [5, 19].
The cross sections of 10B(n,α)7Li and 6Li(n,α)3Η reactions are 3840 1λ8 barns and 940 1λ8 barns, respectively. Here, λ is the
mean free path of the neutron or an average length between interactions.
The detection efficiency of absorbers is given by
ε = 1 − exp − Nσ abs t 149
where N is the number density of the absorber and t is the thickness of the absorber. The product Σabs = Nσ abs is usually
referred to as the thermal-averaged macroscopic neutron absorption coefficient. It can be found in tabulated form, for
instance, in [20].
An example of a double absorber neutron solid-state Front contact

of semiconductor
sensor is presented in Figure 1.4.4 [21–23]. The sensor detector
incorporates two principal components as follows:
Neutron
1) A neutron absorber that reacts to the incident neu- flux
tron flux by generating charged particles (and
γ-rays, for instance, in the 10B(n,α)7Li reaction).
2) A secondary charged particle or γ-ray detector to
measure products of nuclear reactions released
by the neutron absorber.
The combined device is usually fabricated by ex situ
Back
coating the particle detector-sensitive volume with a contact
layer containing either 6Li or 10B isotopes. Various
coating techniques can be used, e.g. evaporation, sput-
tering, or chemical deposition. In some applications, a Nuclear
reaction Charge particle
flip-chip configuration with ex situ prepared “foils” absorber γ-ray interaction
can be the preferred option. This approach works well volume
with a wider range of neutron reactive materials – mul- Figure 1.4.4 An example of the sandwiched neutron solid-state sensor
tilayer absorbers. It simplifies the processing steps and incorporating two principal components: a neutron absorber that reacts to
causes less damage to the secondary particle detectors. the incident neutron flux and γ-ray/charged particle detector to count and
The quantum efficiency of the coated neutron detec- measure products of nuclear reactions coming out of the neutron
absorber.
tor is quite low. There are several reasons for that:
1) The double absorber detectors are only perceptive to the neutrons engaged in nuclear reactions within the thickness of
the isotope enriched coat. The coat needs to be thinner than the range, R, of the lowest energy generated charged particle
for it to be able to reach the secondary particle detector. For a thickness greater than R, the quantum efficiency drops
rapidly as some reaction products relax in the coat itself partially or completely. This further complicates the restoration
of neutron characteristics due to the reaction product charge collection deficit. The authors of [22] presented a compre-
hensive characterization of the pure 10B film that enables the fast definition of the coating thickness during the fabri-
cation steps. They measured an average effective ranges for a 0.84 MeV 7Li, LLi(0.84 MeV) = 0.81 μm, and a 1.47 MeV
α-particle, Lα(1.47 MeV) = 2.65 μm, a microscopic thermal neutron absorption cross section σ abs = 3840 b, and an atomic
density 1.3 × 1023 atoms/cm3. The average effective range here means an average distance over which a particle travels
within the absorber until its energy decreases below the minimum detection threshold defined electronically by a low-
level discriminator setting.
The product of σ absN yields a macroscopic absorption cross section Σabs = 500 cm−1 and a measure of film stopping
efficiency at t = L: ΣabsLLi(0.84 MeV) = 0.0405, ΣabsLα(1.47 MeV) = 0.1324.
In the case of the 6LiF coating, σ abs = 940 b, Σabs = 57.51 cm−1, ΣabsL3H(2.73 MeV) = 0.1682, ΣabsLα(2.05 MeV) = 0.0267. The
figures were quoted for a minimum detection threshold of 300 keV. Interested readers can also find in McGregor et al.
[22] tables for average effective ranges and reaction ΣabsL products calculated for detection thresholds from 100 to
800 keV.
2) It is reasonable to assume that nuclear reactions between neutrons and target nuclei release charged particles in all direc-
tions (4π sr full solid angle) with equal probability. The actual output signal is formed only by those nuclear reactions
whose products travel within a solid angle that subtends the secondary particle detector absorber. For the detector con-
figuration depicted in Figure 1.4.4, a solid angle is approximately 2π sr. In addition to that, the secondary sensor can
detect only one product particle per reaction since the second one is emitted in an opposite direction.
The efficiency of solid-state neutron detectors can be doubled by constructing sandwiched configuration involving two
secondary particle detectors on both sides of the neutron absorber. In this case, a solid angle approaches nearly 4π sr. How-
ever, the quantum efficiency limitation imposed by the film thickness is fundamental. It can be circumvented by stacking
several individual devices in series [23].
Energies of nuclear reaction products between neutrons and target isotopes are large enough to be measured by conven-
tional techniques, such as gas proportional counters, ionization chambers, and scintillation detectors. However, some spe-
cialized applications tend to engage the solid-state detectors where the compactness and low power consumption are at a
premium. For instance, with this technology, the prospects of multipixel imaging arrays of solid-state detectors for neutron
computed tomography (NCT) look very promising. Excellent performance of GaAs Schottky barrier detectors has been
demonstrated when operating in the high energy radiation environment, which was the main limiting factor in the past,
preventing their use in the NCT systems [23].
1.5 Heat Generation in Athermal Quasiparticle Absorbers
Energy deposited by incoming particle fluxes into a detection absorber divides between the electronic and phonon systems.
A part of the phonon energy that does not create quasiparticles dissipates in the detector volume as heat. The heat needs to
be quantified to make sure that all detector components operate at specified optimum temperatures. This is particularly
important in the following cases:
a) For low-temperature sensors mounted on cold stages of refrigerators with limiting cooling capacity.
b) Detectors operating in a vacuum with weak thermal coupling to the radiators.
c) When there is a need to calculate the thermal link parameters/geometry for a detector exposed to high-intensity beams.
Temperature elevation can be found using the following semiempirical equation:
4 8Ep I beam
ΔT ≈ 151
d0 C Σ T b
where Ep (keV) is the energy of the incident beam and CΣ(W/cmK) is the combined thermal conductivity of the detector
material and a thermal link from the detector to the heat sink. Tb is the base temperature of the heat sink, d0 is the cross
section of the radiation beam, and Ibeam is the beam current. Equation (1.5.1) does not take into account other heat
sources like the electric bias across the detector, heat generation by readout or conducting leads, etc. In semiconductor
detectors operating under the reverse bias, electric particles relax down to kinetic energies defined by the net electric field
rather than to the lattice temperature TL, before they are removed from the interaction volume. This somewhat reduces
the energy transfer to the lattice and ΔT.
References
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References 21
16 P. Ouseph. Introduction to Nuclear Radiation Detectors. Springer, 2012.

17 A. Compton. A quantum theory of the scattering of X-rays by light elements. Phys. Rev. 21, 483 (1923).
18 M. Cooper, P. Mijnarends, N. Shiotani, et al. X-ray Compton Scattering. Oxford Science Publications, 2005.
19 C. Grupen. Particle Detectors. Cambridge University Press, 1996.
20 J. Marion, J. Fowler, Eds., Fast Neutron Physics, Part II: Experiment and Theory. Wiley, NY, 1963.
21 D. McGregor, R. Klann, H. Gersch, et al. Designs for thin-film-coated semiconductor thermal neutron detectors. IEEE Trans.
Nucl. Sci. 4, 2454–2458 (2001).
22 D. McGregor, M. Hamming, Y. Yang, et al. Design considerations for thin film coated semiconductor thermal neutron
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23
Radiation Detectors with Superconducting Absorbers
Introduction
As we defined previously, the detection process of nuclear radiation is going through four phases. The first phase, the
primary nuclear reaction of incoming particles with the solid-state absorbers, has a generic nature. It was presented in
Chapter 1. The following phases depend strongly on the absorber material, which can be a superconductor or normal metal
or semiconductor. Since the energy down-conversion and transport physics differ substantially for each material type, we
will analyze them individually in the present and following chapters.
This chapter will be focusing primarily on the operation principles and performance characteristics of radiation detectors
at temperatures low enough for their absorbers to make the transition into the superconductive state. We already mentioned
in the Preface that cooling down devices brings about additional benefits such as a wider choice of materials, which allow
improvement in the energy resolution and quantum efficiency at the same time. Table 2.i.1 illustrates added capabilities by
presenting comparative performance specifications of five materials most often used in athermal radiation sensors. FWHM
abbreviates the full width at half maximum of measured peaks in the energy spectrum.
In the quasiparticle sensors, the absorption of an incoming photon energy Eph triggers a series of fast processes that break
either the electron–hole pairs in semiconductors (Si, Ge) or the Cooper pairs in superconductors (Nb, Ta, Al). The processes
E ph
generate a mean number of free charge carriers N qp , which subsequently serves as a measure of the deposited
Δ
radiation energy in the sensitive volume. Eph is evaluated, in broad terms, by “counting” these nonthermal quasiparticles
with specially designed readout techniques.
It is important to notice that the maximization of Nqp for a given Eph is very desirable because it improves the overall
measurement accuracy of the radiation measurement systems through both the reduction in the statistical error and a better
signal-to-noise ratio.
We will classify conditionally the ultralow temperature (ULT) nuclear particle detectors into three groups depending on
the energy down-conversion process and the detection/sensing techniques exploited. Table 2.i.2 presents this classification
as follows:
a) The nonthermal quasiparticle devices including superconducting tunnel junctions (STJs) and microwave kinetic induc-
tance detectors (MKIDs).
b) The bolometric class including the transition-edge sensors (TESs), metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs), and semi-
conductor thermistor calorimeters (STCs).
c) The other techniques, which will not be included in this manuscript.
Microcalorimeters incorporate three main components: the absorber, the thermometer, and the thermalization path to a
heat sink. The sensitive part of the absorber transforms the energy of incident particles Ep into hot carriers or heat, which
subsequently is sensed by the thermometer. An amount of Ep deposited in an absorber is restored by the integration of the
thermometer output during the thermalization process. In practice, microcalorimeters are a bit slower in terms of
realistically achievable throughputs than their quasiparticle counting counterparts but at the same time potentially more
accurate being less perceptive to statistical errors always present in the random discrete carrier generation processes.
Historically, the STJs technology delivered the first ULT (<1 K) device, which was recognized from the start as a practical,
high potential radiation detector for the charged α particles in 1969 [1]. Further research demonstrated experimentally their
superior energy resolution in photonics over a broad wavelength range from sub-mm to the hard X-rays and even larger
Nuclear Electronics with Quantum Cryogenic Detectors, Second Edition. Vladimir Polushkin.
© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2022 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
24 2 Radiation Detectors with Superconducting Absorbers
Table 2.i.1 Four most utilized materials in X-ray quasiparticle detectors.
Material Si Ge Nb Ta Al
Operating temperature (K) 250 77 0.1 0.1 0.1

Atomic number 14 32 41 73 13
Energy gap Δ (meV) 1120 670 1.53 0.74 0.18
Resolution (FWHM) at 5.9 keV (eV) 121 115 10.2 7 3.5
Table 2.i.2 Classification of low temperature devices on radiation detection techniques.
Low temperature detectors
Nonthermal quasiparticle methods Bolometric methods (Calorimeters) Other techniques
Superconducting tunnel junctions (STJ) Transition edge sensor (TES) Superheated superconducting
Microcalorimeters granules
Microwave kinetic inductance detectors Metallic magnetic calorimeter (MMC) Superconducting nanowire detector
(MKID)
Semiconductor thermistor calorimeter (STC) Superfluid detector
energies with a right absorber. STJs dominated the LTD research field for about two and a half decades. Once the technology
has matured, the astrophysicists expressed their interest in upgrading telescope cameras with new advanced devices. The
ULT devices fit perfectly in the single source science strategy extending significantly, by orders of magnitude, the capabilities
of imaging cameras of large aperture telescopes in terms of energy resolution, time resolution, polarization measurements,
etc. A natural driver in the extragalactic survey science is to use very large focal arrays for a higher multiplex advantage
making maximal use of the photons concentrated at the focus [2]. With funding on a Large Aperture Telescope well over
US$100 million, astrophysicists have a serious financial incentive in getting what they need. The discipline defines largely
the roadmap in LTD science and technology from c. 1990 till the present day in a quest for ever-increasing frame speed and
imaging resolution. From Figure 2.i.1, one can see that the amount of detector channels in the consecutive instrument
installations grows exponentially with time. As a result, the multiplexing of focal plane detector arrays became a top priority
because the ULT working environment is no longer compatible with numerous readout and control wires and cables that
105 NASA LXM

ESA
SCUBA2 ATHENA
104
ACT SOFIA
Number of detectors
103 SHARK2 SPF
SCUBA1
2 BOLOCAM S-CAM3
10
S-CAM2
SHARK1
TES+MSQUID
MKID d emo
101
TES demo
STJ demo
Demo
UKT
10 0 CSO
Figure 2.i.1 Array sizes for astrophysics projects
growing exponentially with time: STJ (circles), MKID
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 (squares), and TES (triangulars). Source: Based on data
Year from Refs. [3–10].
introduce too much thermal load on the cold plates of refrigerators. Problematic issues with the STJ multiplexing (by 2005
the goal was to build just 120-pixel infrared S-CAM-3 [3]) led to the proposal of a new calorimetric detection principle, i.e.
TES in 1996 [11]. Already by 2015, the TES microcalorimeters coupled to the dc superconducting quantum interference
device (SQUID)-based multiplexors raised the array size to 1000 in the South Pole Telescope, 3000 in the Atacama Cosmo-
logical Telescope [4, 5], and 10 000 for SCUBA 2. In 2002, the TES devices were succeeded by MKIDs with an even greater
multiplexing factor per transmission line [6, 7]. MKID project teams delivered cameras with 10 000 pixels for SOFIA instru-
ments. Further, matching TES sensors with a new multiplexing technique based on single Josephson junction microwave
SQUIDs operating in the nonhysteretic mode [8, 9] and the code division technique [10] opened up new prospects for build-
ing space telescope instruments with 100 000 focal plane pixels for missions NASA LXM and ESA ATHENA scheduled for
2024 and 2032, respectively.
To summarize, the roadmap shown in Figure 2.i.1 suggests that the majority of research groups focus primarily on the
development of three low-temperature detector types: STJs, TES, and MKIDs. The chapter, starting from Section 2.3, will be
discussing mainly these devices. In Sections 2.1 and 2.2, we will overview selected topics of the superconductivity theory, the
energy down-conversion, and transport in the superconducting absorbers.
2.1 Selected Topics of the Superconductivity Theory
2.1.1 The Electron–Phonon Interaction and Cooper Pairing Mechanisms

We will start this section with a brief insight into the electron pairing mechanism discovered by Leon Cooper in 1956 [12].
A year later, J. Bardin, L. Cooper, and J. Schrieffer developed the superconductivity theory abbreviated by their names as
BCS [13] in which they emphasized the fundamental importance of this mechanism in the formation of the superconduct-
ing phase. The theory is based on the ability of the electron–phonon interaction to create an attractive force between
electrons primarily those that occupy neighboring states with the energy difference, ΔE < ℏω. Here ℏω is the phonon energy,
ℏ is the Planck constant, and ω is the angular frequency. This attractive force can level the screened Coulomb repulsion and
combine two electrons with opposite wave vectors and spins in a pair.
For simplicity, we will illustrate the electron–phonon interaction using a simple (a)
“gun” model as shown in Figure 2.1.1. Figure 2.1.1a: two guns representative of two
electrons are placed on opposite slopes so that under the gravity the forces Fg they
would tend to pull them in contrary directions (analogy of the Coulomb repulsion). Fg Fg
However, (Figure 2.1.1b) the shots fired along the depicted trajectory (by analogy repre-
senting phonon particles) with right mass and momentum can generate attractive
forces, Fa, which will keep guns unmoved on the slopes (formation of the electron pair
in superconductors). (b)
In real terms, the pairing mechanism microscopics is somewhat different and more Fa Fa
complex. First of all, superconducting metals are characterized by the high density of
electron states; e.g. for Ta, this density ~1023 cm−3. Consequently, each conducting
electron is surrounded by a cloud of neighboring electrons that produce a screening Fg Fg
effect for the Coulomb repulsion. In its motion, the electron perturbs the screening
cloud and together with it the lattice through combined electrostatic forces. To distin-
guish this collective conglomerate from a single free electron in the vacuum, the BCS Figure 2.1.1 A mechanical model
simulating attractive forces Fa
theory refers to carriers in the conduction band of superconductors as the generated by the electron–phonon
quasiparticles. interaction. (a) The guns
Quasiparticle interaction with the lattice results in the excitation of elastic waves in it (representing electrons) without
that are picked up by other quasiparticles and vice versa. As a result, some carriers with shots (no electron–phonon
exchange) move in opposite
the right energy, wave vector, and spin fall in the synchronism and form a pair. Due to directions under gravity force Fg (the
the dual nature of the matter formulated by quantum mechanics, the wavelength Coulomb repulsion). (b) The guns
λ of the lattice elastic oscillation can be represented by a phonon particle with an with shots flying along the depicted
energy ℏ/λ. This leads us to the electron–phonon interaction mechanism behind the trajectory generate an attractive
force, Fa, (the electron–phonon
Cooper pair formation, emphasizing the quantum mechanical nature of the interaction force) overcoming the
phenomenon. gravity, Fg, (the Coulomb repulsion).
(a) (b)
Excitation T = 0K Excitation 0 < T < Tc
energy Density energy
Density
of states of states
of quasiparticles
ρ(E) Nqp ρ(E)
Δ Δ
EF EF
−Δ −Δ
Figure 2.1.2 The energy diagrams of superconductor in which the dashed areas represent the occupied states. (a) At T = 0, all conduction
electrons form pairs and drop below Fermi level EF creating an energy gap 2Δ between the lowest edge of the conduction band and upper
edge of occupied states. (b) At Tc > T > 0, the thermal excitation phonons trigger the pair-breaking process returning freed electrons back to
the conduction band.
Forming a pair brings about strong benefits for the electron system. First of all, that is energetically favorable as the pair
can occupy states below the lowest edge of the conduction band. Figure 2.1.2 illustrates it with the energy diagrams in which
the dashed areas represent the occupied states. The second benefit comes from the fact that due to their combined spin of
either 0 or 1, all pairs can be in the same quantum phase and behave as Bose condensate with the transport in the equi-
librium state described by a common macroscopic order parameter or wave function.
At a temperature T 0, all conduction electrons form pairs and drop below the Fermi level EF, creating an energy gap 2Δ
between the lowest edge of the conduction band and the upper edge of occupied superconducting states (Figure 2.1.2a). The
energy gap is evaluated from the BCS theory as
7
Δ = 2θD e − n 0 U ≈ k B T c
1
211
2
where U is the cutoff interaction potential between electrons at θD = ℏωmax the Debye maximum phonon energy, n(0)
denotes the density of the Bloch states of one spin per unit energy at the Fermi level, Tc is the critical temperature above
which the superconductivity disappears and all electrons return into the conduction band, and kB is the Boltzmann
constant. Table 2.1.1 summarizes properties of the three most widely used materials in superconducting electronics, Nb,
Ta, and Al (ξ is the coherence length, i.e. an average distance between electrons forming pairs).
Equation (2.1.1) suggests that the coupling energy between electrons forming the Cooper pair is relatively small. For
Nb and Ta, energy gaps Δ(0) are equal to ~1.53 and ~0.74 meV, respectively. This means that at a nonzero temperature,
Tc > T > 0, the thermal excitation phonons can trigger the generation–recombination process including the pair-breaking
and pair recombination events. Figure 1.1.2b demonstrates the outcome of this process on the energy diagram: a portion of
freed quasiparticles rises back into the conduction band. The density of thermally excited quasiparticles as a function of
temperature is given by [16]
Δ0
nth
qp T = 2n 0 2πk B TΔ 0 exp − 212
kB T
According to (2.1.2), nqp increases with temperature, thus reducing the effective energy gap until T = Tc at which all
Cooper pairs are broken and Δ(Tc) 0. The temperature dependence of Δ(T) calculated from the BCS theory is shown
Table 2.1.1 Properties of materials used in superconducting detectors.
Material Tc (K) λL (nm) ξ (nm) Bc (T) Δ (meV) N(0) × 1022 (eV−1 cm−3) [14] ΩD (meV) [14, 15] τ 0 (ns) [15]
Nb 9.25 39 44 0.21 1.53 18 23.7 0.15

Ta 4.48 34.5 92.5 0.083 0.74 4.08 20.7 1.78
Al 1.18 68 1600 0.01 0.17 1.22 36.2 438
Normalized energy gap, Δ(T)/Δ(0) 1.0
0.8
Detectors
0.6
0.4
0.2 TES thermometer
BCS theory
0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Normalized temperature T/Tc
Figure 2.1.3 The temperature dependence of Δ(T) calculated from the BCS theory. The superconducting detectors tend to operate
at temperatures below 100 mK, whereas the TES use steep superconductivity-normal state transition near Tc. Source: Modified from
Bardin et al. [13].
in Figure 2.1.3 [13]. On this figure, we also indicated two temperature regions of particular interest: quasiparticle detectors
tend to operate at temperatures T Tc (normally around 100 mK) to minimize the pair braking process due to thermal
excitation, i.e. thermal nth
qp 0. Contrary to that the TESs utilize the sharp superconductivity-normal state transition region.
However, Tc of TES materials is adjusted to be near the detector operating temperature, which is again ~100 mK. We will
provide more details on that in Section 2.3.
2.1.2 The Behavior of Superconductors in the Magnetic Field

This topic is critically important since superconducting electronic components are magnetic flux sensitive. The supercon-
ducting material differs from a perfect conductor by exhibiting the Meissner effect, i.e. ability to expel the static magnetic
flux from its interior [17]. The external magnetic field, Be, decays exponentially from the surface into the bulk as
x me
Bi = Be exp − with the characteristic London penetration depth at T = 0 defined as λL = (here nc, me,
λL nc e20 μ0
and e0 denote the carrier density, the electron mass, and charge, and μ0 is the permeability).
The magnetic flux quantization inside a ring or hollow cylinder is the most striking direct evidence of the quantum
mechanical nature of superconductivity. The phenomenon was suggested originally by Fritz London approximately seven
years before the publication of the BCS theory [18]. As we mentioned at the beginning of this section, the Cooper pair
condensate is described by a macroscopic wave function:
Ψ r , t = Ψ 0 r , t exp iψ r , t 213
Here r denotes the vector coordinate, and t is time. For pure conventional superconductors and T 0, Ψ 0( r ,t) = const in
proportion to n 0 , therefore, the condensate motion relates entirely to the phase ψ. The periodic nature of the
wave function phase along the ring imposes a restriction on values of the internal dc magnetic flux. In 1961, Lars
Onsager presented a comprehensive analysis of the flux quantization and derived the value of the flux quantum
Φ0 = ℏ/2e ~ 2.07 × 10−15 Wb, the minimum dc magnetic flux allowed inside the superconducting ring [19]. Figure 2.1.4
illustrates the flux quantization phenomenon. If we cool down a ring or a hollow cylinder below Tc in an external magnetic
(a) flux of a value Φe = kΦ0 (k = 0, ±1, ±2, …) plus an extra fraction of the quantum
smaller than Φ0/2 (e.g. Φe = kΦ0 + Φ0/4 in Figure 2.1.4a), the internally cap-
I = ϕ0 /4L
tured flux will be Φi = kΦ0, whereas the circulating current I = Φ0/4L screens
ϕi = kϕ0 the extra fraction Φ0/4 (here L denotes the ring inductance). In a case of a sim-
ilar fraction deficit, the supercurrent, I, will flow in the opposite direction to
make up for kΦ0 (Figure 2.1.4b). The magnetic flux kΦ0 corresponds to the
ϕe= kϕ0 + ϕ0 /4 phase ψ = 2πk. Using a weak link closing a superconducting loop, the internal
flux can be regulated by changing the phase across the weak link independently
(b) of the external magnetic field. This property is exploited by the digital supercon-
I = ϕ0 /4L ducting electronics based on the rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) devices.
Due to the quantization effect, some analog devices, like the SQUIDs, dem-
ϕi = kϕ0
onstrate periodic flux-to-voltage characteristics. Since they contain one or more
weak links, under some pulse-like inputs or spurious noise, the operating point
in these devices can jump into neighboring branches. This means that the loop
ϕe = kϕ0 – ϕ0 /4
captured or released one or more flux quanta. If a SQUID operates in the flux
Figure 2.1.4 (a) A superconducting ring locked loop, the change in a stored kΦ0 generates large offsets at the output.
cooled below Tc in an external magnetic flux, A special circuitry must be designed in the superconducting electronic systems
Φe = kΦ0 + Φ0/4. The internally captured flux to reset/prevent these offsets.
will be Φi = nΦ0, whereas the remaining
fraction Φ0/4 is screened by the circulating
current I = Φ0/4L (here L denotes the ring
inductance). (b) With a Φ0/4 fraction deficit, 2.1.3 The Tunnel Josephson Junction
the supercurrent, I = Φ0/4L, will flow in the
opposite direction to make up for nΦ0. The Josephson junction in its classical definition is a specific type of supercon-
ducting weak links, which demonstrate the Josephson effects. It constitutes a
Wave function
very important basic component for superconducting electronics, similar to
the pn junction in semiconductors. A schematic drawing of the junction is
ψ1~exp(iψ1) ψ2 ~exp(iψ2) presented in Figure 2.1.5. Two superconductors S1 and S2 are separated by a
dielectric layer with a thickness t ξ, where ξ represents the coherence length,
r
Dielectric i.e. an average distance between electrons in the Cooper pair. For simplicity, we
assume that T 0, each bulk is described by own wave function, Ψ 1 and Ψ 2,
S1 S2
t << ξ and phases ψ 1 and ψ 2 govern the transport of the condensates in them. Due to
the proximity effect, the wave functions decay exponentially through the
IJ dielectric layer into the neighboring bulk, thus forming the overlapped tails.
In practice, this means that the Cooper pairs can pass freely through the
V
dielectric without resistance. For this particular arrangement, Brian Josephson
predicted two classical effects in 1962 [20].
Figure 2.1.5 The Josephson tunneling
junction. Two superconductors S1 and S2 are
separated by a dielectric layer with a
thickness t ξ, where ξ represents the 2.1.3.1 The Stationary Josephson Effect
coherence length. Each bulk is described by A supercurrent IJ through the tunneling junction depends on the phase differ-
own wave function, Ψ 1, Ψ 2, and phases ψ 1 ence of the wave functions ϕ = ψ 1 − ψ 2 as follows:
and ψ 2 govern the transport of the
condensates in them. I J = I c sin ϕ 214
where Ic is the critical (maximum) supercurrent.
2.1.3.2 The Nonstationary Josephson Effect

The phase difference ϕ evolving with time generates a voltage V across the tunnel junction with a fundamental relationship
given by
dϕ 2e
= V 215
dt ℏ
Equation (2.1.5) works also in the reverse order; i.e. a voltage V applied to the tunneling junction will cause the phase (or the
supercurrent) oscillation with a Josephson frequency: fJ = ωJ/2π = 483.6 V MHz/μV (ωJ = 2eV/ℏ).
As we mentioned at the beginning of the section, the Joseph-

son effects can be observed in some other types of weak links, I
like point contacts, and micro-bridges. We will not analyze
them as they are not used in devices described by this book.
For the tunnel junctions, Ambegaokar–Baratoff defined the C RJ LJ IN
critical current Ic through the macroscopic variables [21]: V
π ΔT Δ
Ic T = tanh 216
2 eRN 2k B T
where RN is the normal resistance of the junction dependent on
Figure 2.1.6 The resistively and capacitively shunted junction
its area and dielectric thickness, t. (RCSJ) model of the Josephson junction. C is the capacitance of
By combining the Josephson Eqs. (2.1.4) and (2.1.5) and using the tunnel junction. RJ is responsible for the quasi-particle
the classical definition for a voltage across the junction current; the junction itself is substituted by the Josephson
dIJ inductance, LJ, and IN is the noise source.
V = LJ , one obtains that
dt
Φ0
LJ = 217
2πI c cos ϕ
According to (2.1.7), the Josephson junctions are characterized by strongly nonlinear inductance LJ, which is a periodic
function of ϕ. It has a discontinuity at ϕ = π/2 and becomes negative in a range π/2 < ϕ < 3π/2. The positive range is utilized
in superconducting parametric amplifiers: single-junction microwave SQUIDs with external pumping operating in the
nonhysteretic mode, as well as in self-pumping dc SQUIDs (see Chapter 5).
We conclude this section with a short briefing on the resistively and capacitively shunted junction (RCSJ) model, which is
used widely to analyze dynamic properties of the Josephson junctions themselves as well as quantum devices incorporating
them [22]. Figure 2.1.6 presents the equivalent electronic circuit of this model. C represents the capacitance of tunnel
junctions. It can also incorporate the displacement current source Id if required. RJ is a nonlinear resistance due to the
quasiparticle current; the junction itself is substituted by the Josephson inductance, LJ, and IN is the noise source. The
RCSJ model is, in fact, a parallel resonant circuit with a quality factor given by
RJ C
Q= = RJ 218
ω0 LJ LJ
Substituting LJ in (2.1.8) with expression (2.1.7), one finds the squared quality factor
2πI c R2J C J
Q2 = βc 219
Φ0
which is also known as the McCumber parameter [23].
Like any resonant circuit, the junction can operate in three
I
modes: (i) Q > 1, the underdamped mode; (ii) Q = 1, the criti-
cally damped mode; and (iii) Q < 1, the overdamped mode.
The required damping factor is achieved with a shunting resistor RN
connected in parallel to RJ. In the overdamped mode, RJ is nor-
mally replaced by a constant resistor R, and the microscopic IC
RCSJ model takes a simplified form called the RSJ equivalent. Giever
Josephson tunneling
The RSJ model excludes the capacitance C from consideration tunneling curve
assuming it influence is negligibly small for the junction
dynamics.
V
No damping is implemented in the junctions intended for
Δ1 + Δ2
quasiparticle measurements in the STJ radiation detectors.
The capacitance charge/discharge thus practically dominates Figure 2.1.7 The hysteretic I–V curve of the tunneling
the overall response of the RCSJ circuit, making the I–V curve junction without damping resistor. Arrows show the excursion
hysteretic (Figure 2.1.7). The arrows show the excursion of of the operating point along the Josephson tunneling path
until Ic, when the junction latches into the voltage state. The
the operating point. When the bias current increases from 0, return path takes the operating point through the Giaever
it follows the Josephson tunneling path until a critical value Ic (quasiparticle) tunneling branch, which is used in STJ particle
has been reached. At that moment, the junction switches to detectors.
I the voltage state, (Δ1 + Δ2)/e, with a time constant LJ C (Δ1, Δ2 represent energy
gaps of superconductive bulks). After latching into the voltage state, the return path
RN takes the operating point through the Giaever (quasiparticle) tunneling branch [24].
In the STJ detectors, we are interested primarily in the latter part of the I–V curve.
IC
Since the Cooper pair supercurrent masks the quasiparticle tunneling, the Josephson
effect needs to be suppressed. We will describe techniques for achieving that in
Section 2.3.
V For βc ≤ 1, the I–V curve of the junction becomes nonhysteretic, as shown in
Figure 2.1.8. The multistage dc SQUID parametric amplifiers use normally the over-
Figure 2.1.8 The characteristic I–V
damped junctions because (i) they are less demanding to the tolerances of fabrication
curve of a critically and overdamped
tunnel junction. No hysteresis is present routines, (ii) enable a potentially good intrinsic energy resolution, and (iii) due to
in this mode of operation. lower plasma frequency R/LJ oscillations, the handling of parasitic transmission line
resonances becomes less sophisticated.
The dc SQUIDs with critically damped junctions engage the capacitive part of the
resonator, increasing dramatically the plasma frequency oscillation ~(LJC)1/2 and the quality factor, which results in a much
improved parametric amplification factor. The critically damped SQUIDs can be coupled directly to the room temperature
electronics without degrading their performance, a huge advantage for building large multiplexed imaging detector arrays.
2.1.4 The Superconducting Transmission Line: The Kinetic Inductance

The superconducting transmission lines have a number of critically important mainstream applications in the ULT
radiation detector technologies, e.g. as high-quality factor stripline microresonators intended for the MKIDs [7] and the
planar pumping tank circuits coupled to the single-junction SQUID parametric amplifiers operating in the nonhysteretic
mode (MSQUIDs) [8]. The SQUID/microresonator combined technique enables the high-gain parametric signal amplifi-
cation and the frequency division multiplexing (FDM) of large arrays of STJ and TES detectors. The transmission line prop-
erties must also be taken into account when we evaluate inductance and parasitic resonances in the input coils coupling
STJs, TES sensors to the analog ac and dc SQUID readout parametric amplifiers, etc.
Two types of superconducting transmission lines present particular interest in ULT nuclear electronics, i.e.
a) The parallel-strip (or microstrip) transmission line (Figure 2.1.9a), which we will encounter in the lump element kinetic
inductance detector (LEKID) sensors (Section 2.5) and SQUIDs (Chapter 5). The line has a width w, a thickness of the
film t, and the strip is separated from the superconducting ground plane by a crystalline dielectric with h as its height.
This configuration can operate on its own or be fabricated on a larger substrate.
b) The coplanar waveguide transmission (CPW) line (Figure 2.1.9b). This configuration constitutes the base for ¼ wave
high-quality factor microresonators in microwave kinetic inductance radiation detectors (MKID) (see Section 2.5)
and microwave multiplexors (μMUXs) (Section 6.7). The CWP transmission line represents a single metal layer deposited
on a dielectric crystalline substrate, e.g. sapphire or high resistivity Si. The central superconductor strip with a width w
and a thickness t is separated from the side ground plane by a gap g on both sides.
Since all mentioned applications involve dealing with transmission line resonances, it is important to reemphasize the
dual nature of current carriers in the superconducting material at T > 0: the Cooper pair condensate and the quasiparticles.
This results in two-component frequency-dependent surface impedance, i.e.
Z s ω = Rs ω + iωLs 2 1 10
(a) (b) Figure 2.1.9 A cross section of two types of planar transmission lines. The light
w g w g color represents the dielectric substrates. The darker color regions illustrate the
superconducting thin films. (a) A vertical configuration of the microstrip
h transmission line including a superconducting strip of a width w separated by the
dielectric with a thickness h from a superconducting ground plane. This structure
can be freestanding or fabricated on a thicker substrate. (b) The coplanar
waveguide line consists of a center superconducting strip of a width w and a
superconducting ground plane separated from each other by a gap of a width g.
where Rs(ω) denotes resistive losses contributed by the quasiparticles, Rs(0) = 0, and Ls is the surface inductance. The kinetic
energy stored in the Cooper pairs contribute to Ls a fraction defined as the kinetic inductance, Lk.
To quantify Zs(ω, T) the bulk superconducting materials are classified into two categories as follows [25]:
1) The dirty (local) limit when the electron mean free path, lmfp, is much smaller than the surface penetration depth, λsc, and
the coherence length, ξ0. In this case,
1 2
iωμ0
Zs = 2 1 11
σ 1 − iσ 2
2) The extreme anomalous limit when λL ξ0 [26]
−1 3
i 3ωμ0 3πω σ 2 + iσ 1
Zs = 2 1 12
2 4v f λ2L σ n
In these expressions, μ0 = 4π × 10−7 N/A2 is the permittivity of the free space, vf denotes the Fermi velocity, and σ n repre-
sents the normal conductivity just above Tc. For instance, expression (2.1.12) applies to the Al thin films with ξ0 ~ 1600 nm,
λL ~ 16 nm, normally used to build MKID sensors for quasiparticle detectors with Ta absorbers.
The real and imaginary parts of ac conductivity σ 1, σ 2 can be derived from the Mattis–Bardeen theory [27]. Taking into
account the conditions at which the ULT detectors normally operate, i.e. kBT Δ and sub-gap frequencies ℏω Δ, the
Mattis–Bardeen conductivity real and imaginary parts take the following form [28]:
2Δ T σ n ℏω
σ 1 ω, T ≈ exp − Δ 0 k B TK 0 2 sinh ℏω 2k B T 2 1 13
ℏω 2kB T
πΔ T σ n ℏω ℏω
σ 2 ω, T ≈ 1 − 2 exp − Δ 0 k B T exp − I0 2 1 14
ℏω 2kB T 2kB T
where K0(x) and I0(x) are modified Bessel functions.
The Meissner effect changes the distribution of the electromagnetic field around a superconductor structure compared
with the distribution, which the field would form otherwise around the normal metal structure of the same geometry. It also
restricts the supercurrent to flow close to the surface of the material. Since the specific inductance (inductance per unit
length) is defined by localized values of the field-to-current ratios, the inductance computation models should incorporate
inputs that reflect the properties of particular superconducting materials of interest. In other words, the specific inductance
of identical geometry will vary for different materials. This variation can be neglected for some applications. They certainly
must be taken into account when we go for the ultimate energy resolutions either in MKID or SQUID parametric amplifiers
as well as when the maximum amount of channels per cable must be fit in microwave multiplexors.
Most inductance computation software packages employ the fundamental concept based on finding the field-to-current
distribution from the minimized free energy of any geometries, including transmission lines [29]. Still, in some cases, we
need to understand the details of the concept implementation and its limitations to get a good agreement with experimental
data. The free energy of a superconductor includes two major components [30]. These are as follows:
– The static magnetic field energy

– The kinetic energy of the superelectrons
Let us consider a system of N superconducting elements.

A generic example of one element of the system is shown in
Ji
Figure 2.1.10. Following Sass and Stewart [31], the total stored mag-
netostatic energy in the free space is given by
1 μ 2
Em = B Hdv = 0 H dv 2 1 15
2 2 ai
and the total Cooper pair kinetic energy is
μ0 Figure 2.1.10 A generic example of elemental part of the
Ek = λ2L J 2 dv 2 1 16 inductance.
2 sc
where B and H represent the magnetic field and the magnetic field strength, respectively, and J is the current density
distribution in the superconductor system.
Equation (2.1.15) does integration over the entire free space. Restricted to the volume of the superconducting system, it
takes a modified form as follows:
1
Em = A J dv 2 1 17
2 sc
where
A r = J r G r r d r 2 1 18
sc
is the vector potential at a coordinate r generated by unit current flowing at r .
μ0 1
G r r = 2 1 19
4π r − r
is the Green function. The current distribution is derived from the Maxwell equation:
J =∇×Η 2 1 20
W. Chang [32] proposed the variational numerical technique to derive the specific inductance in superconductor trans-
mission line structures. The finite element analysis assumes that the conductor is divided into a number of elementary
volumes. If the volumes are small enough to regard the current density within each element quasiuniform, the total energy
and the specific inductances of elements have the following functional dependence:
1 N −1 N −1
W min = Lij I i I j 2 1 21
2 i=1 j=1
where Wmin is the total free energy. It is derived from the minimized expression compiled out of (2.1.15)–(2.1.20) and given
by [32]
1 N N
μ0 N 2
W= Ji r i J j r j G r i r j d r id r j + λ2i J i r i d r i 2 1 22
2i=1 j=1 i j
2 i=1 i
In the following discussion, we will compare two approaches in evaluating basic parameters of planar transmission lines:
the first one is the conventional way usually employed for normal metal structures, and the second one takes into account
specific properties of superconductor materials.
For the parallel microstrip line (Figure 2.1.9a) and w > h, its characteristic impedance:
Lpul
Z0 ≈ 2 1 23
C pul
can be expressed via the geometric factors by electrostatic analysis. Using the conformal mapping the inductance per unit
length is given by [33]
μ0 h μ 2λsc
Lpul ≈ + 0 2 1 24
w w
where λsc is the field penetration depth for thin-film structure (which can be different from λL for the bulk superconductor).
The second term of Eq. (2.1.24) is an extra inductance added to the perfect conductor by the superconductivity effect. This
fraction can also be expressed in terms of the superconductivity contribution factor often quoted in sensor performance
indicators [34]:
2λsc
αms = 2 1 25
h + 2λsc
Another random document with
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anybody meeting the one person most ideally suited to him is so
mathematically small as to be not worth considering.... We all have
to put up with either nothing at all or the thousandth or the millionth
best.... Somewhere in the world there is, no doubt, somebody who
would fit in with me so exquisitely that every phase of my life and
endeavour would be the better for the fusing of two into one.... Same
with you.... But what earthly chance is there of either of us ever
discovering that person? Talk about looking for a needle in a
haystack! It’s worse than that: you do know the needle when you
have found it, but if a man were to meet his ideal partner, the
chances are he wouldn’t recognize her! ... I tell you, the quest of an
ideal mate is hopeless from the start. If you’re extraordinarily lucky,
you may get somebody not many thousand places down on the list
that is headed by that theoretical ideality who lives in the next street
or the next continent....”
“And what if you’re not extraordinarily lucky?” she put in.
“Providence, or whatever you choose to call it,” he replied, “has
realized that the vast majority of people cannot in the nature of
things be extraordinarily lucky. But providence has wisely contrived
that if a man is unable to get the woman he wants, there is at least
one method by which he can be made to want the woman he gets.”
“And what is the method?”
“Very simple.... Falling in love with her.”
“I suppose you don’t agree with falling in love?”
He laughed.
“You might as well ask me if I agreed with eating and drinking.
Certainly a good deal of time and labour would be saved if we didn’t
have to perform these functions.... What I object to in falling in love
(and it’s a purely personal objection: I mean it applies to me and not
necessarily to anybody else) is simply that it’s such a monopolizer of
energy.... I’m one of those people who’re used to doing many things
at once. There are heaps of important things in my life that love has
never had anything to do with and never could have ... and yet love,
if it were violent enough, and if I were weak enough, might
completely paralyse them for a time” ... He began searching for a
simile—“like,” he added, “like a perfectly loyal and orderly body of
workpeople compelled to take a rest because of a strike hundreds of
miles away that has really no connection with them at all....”
She nodded.
“There is, or ought to be, in every man and woman some divine
sense of purposefulness, some subtle foretaste of greater things that
would make life worth living if everything else were taken away. And
it ought to be completely independent of and separate from every
other living creature in the world. Call it personality, or ‘ego,’ or
anything you like. It is above jealousy and envy. It gives every man a
sunken indestructible pride in being himself and no one else. That’s
where novelists, sentimental folk and such like make their mistake.
They give love far too prominent a place in the scheme of things....
Love is only one phase of life. At critical moments no doubt it does
take precedence of everything else, but think of the heaps of other
things that go to make up life! Ambition, for instance. And ideals.... A
man may have ideals so utterly removed from all connection with
love that if they were blurred by any act of his, love would be a
worthless recompense.... Oh yes, falling in love may be a passably
pleasant means of frittering away a dull seaside holiday, but for a
busy ambitious spirit it spells—usually—ruination—unless—unless
—”
“Unless what?”
“Unless,” he resumed, “the fates were so miraculously thoughtful
as to provide such a man with somebody whose dreams and hopes
and ambitions were in mystic harmony with his own.... And that, of
course, is a miracle not to be expected once in a hundred years....”
Pause.
“And it is such a confoundedly casual business too,” he went on.
“Falling in love, I mean. It’s about as sudden and spontaneous and
unreasonable and unthought-out as walking down a railway platform
beside a train of empty carriages and selecting one compartment in
preference to all the others.... And think of the horror of falling in
love, not merely with somebody you don’t like, but with somebody
you actively dislike. Oh, I assure you, it’s quite possible. Some
wretched creature with whom fate had capriciously made you
infatuated! Someone who would monopolize selfishly everything in
you that was free and open to all; someone who would divert
everything high and noble in you to swell that tragic outflow of
wasted ambitions, warped enthusiasms, cramped souls and stunted
ideals! And someone, moreover, who would make it hard for you to
value the people you liked but did not love! Think of it—all your life
thrown out of perspective by something as casual and involuntary as
a hundred unremembered things one does every day of one’s life!”
They had entered the station-yard. It was beginning to rain in big,
cold drops.
“I suppose you think intellectual attachments are all right?” she
remarked.
He grunted.
“If you want to know my candid opinion,” he replied gruffly,
“intellectual attachments, so called, are all bosh. If you like a clever
woman (or a clever man, for that matter), the feeling is not, properly
speaking, intellectual. And if you merely feel æsthetic admiration for
somebody’s nimble intellect, then I should say there was no real
attachment.”
“But I presume you prefer a woman should not be too intensely
sexual?”
“If you mean do I prefer a woman who is half a man as well as
not quite half a woman, I certainly do not. The best women, let me
tell you”—(he began fishing out money from his pocket and
advanced to the ticket office. Their conversation went spasmodically)
—“are all sex.” (He took the tickets and rejoined her slowly, counting
his change as he did so.) “Let me see, what was I saying? Oh yes, I
remember.... Well, the best women, as I say, are all sex—but—
but”—(interruption while the man punched their tickets at the top of
the steps)—“but not always.... All sex, but not always.... That’s how it
appears to me.... There’s the train just coming in. Hurry along, or we
shall have to get in anywhere....”
§6
They were in time to select an empty first-class compartment.
There the conversation was resumed, though not precisely where it
had been broken off.
“You see,” he went on, “there is a part of me that in the ordinary
sense neither is nor could be in love with anybody. And that’s this ...”
he touched his head. “My head is always capable of stepping in at
the most awkward moments to tell me what a damn fool I am.... And
I am so queerly constituted that I care more for what my head tells
me than for any other advice in the world. I could not ignore its
directions and still keep my own self-respect.... I said just now that
providence had contrived that when a man can’t get what he wants
he can be induced to want what he gets by the mere incidental
process of falling in love.... That’s true enough generally, but it isn’t in
my case. All my life I’ve been wanting what I can’t get. Dreams
bigger than the world, ambitions beyond my own capabilities, visions
higher than the stars—every idealist knows what that is. But I’m not
merely an idealist. I like Debussy’s stuff, but I like Bach’s more,
because Bach always knows what he’s talking about. As an
economist, I dislike froth and sentiment, which always obscures
truth, and that’s why I can’t stand a lot of the music that would send
the average idealist into the seventh heaven. Contrariwise, as you
might say, my idealism creeps into my economic work and makes
me see behind all the figures and documents the lives of men and
women. And that’s what a lot of economists can’t see.”
Pause.
“You see it’s not in my power to want what I can get. I shall
always be reaching for the impossible.”
“Then you will never be satisfied,” she said.
“No, never,” he replied, “not even if I got what I wanted.... But you
can’t understand that, can you?”
She reflected.
“I don’t know,” she answered, hesitating, “whether I understand it
or not.”
And she thought passionately as she listened to him: Why can’t I
understand? Why am I not like him? Why is he on a plane different
from mine? Why has providence brought us together when we are
so far apart?
§7
On a dull December afternoon, Catherine stood in a tiny room at
the back of the Guildhall at Cambridge. She was to play at a
combined violin and pianoforte recital, arranged by the University
Musical Society. She was tired, for the journey down had been
tedious. Verreker was at York: he had discovered a pianoforte genius
of twelve years old amongst the northern moors, and was very much
engrossed in her. “Superb child,” he had said of her to Catherine,
and Catherine, knowing the rarity of his praise, had felt angrily
jealous of her. Yet she knew that his enthusiasm was strictly
professional: the girl was nothing to him: it was only her genius that
counted.
Through the half open door that led to the platform Catherine
could see the audience filtering in. Loosely dressed undergraduates
and senile professors formed the bulk. From the drab walls the
portraits of gaily caparisoned mayors and aldermen looked down in
vacuous reproach. Queen Victoria presented her angular profile
chillingly at one side of the platform: the only cheerful thing in the
entire building was a large open fire, in front of which a crowd of
undergraduates were standing.... Slowly the clock at the back of the
hall climbed up to three. Catherine sighed. It was not often she felt
uninterested in her work. But this afternoon the huge bulk of the
Kreutzer Sonata loomed in front of her as burdensome as a cartload
of stones to be shifted. She knew that her hands would perform their
duty, just as a tired walker knows that his legs will assuredly carry
him the last long mile. But at the thought of the Sonata, with all its
varying movements and repetitions of theme, the greatest violinist in
England scraping away beside her, and a front row composed of
doctors and bachelors of music, she shivered. She was annoyed at
the ominous fact that she was not the least interested in music that
afternoon. She was annoyed at the spiritless architecture of the
Guildhall. She was annoyed because she knew she would have to
start punctually at three.
Just as the minute hand of the clock was almost on the point of
twelve, the door at the back of the room opened suddenly, and she
caught a swift glimpse of a man in a huge fur overcoat and gloves.
She was about to ask him his business when he turned his face to
her. She started. A rush of overmastering joy swept over her. It was
Verreker. The moment was delectable. To see him there when she
had not expected him, when she did not know why he had come!
Never in all her life was she so happy as in that moment. She was
too joyful to speak to him. She just looked up into his face smilingly
and took the hand he offered.
“Surprised to see me?” he began, and from his tone she knew he
was in an unusually good humour.
“Yes. I thought you were at York.”
“So I was till this morning. The child-genius is a fake.... I came
down here to give a lecture on Economics ... five o’clock in the Arts
School....”
“So you’ll stay to hear me, then?”
“As long as I can stand it.... I’ve heard the Kreutzer till I’m sick of
it. Still, it suits a Cambridge audience.... What’ll you play if they ask
for an encore?”
“I don’t know ... Debussy, maybe.”
“Not after the Kreutzer. Give them something sweet and sugary.
The adagio out of the Sonata Pathétique, for instance.”
The conversation developed on technical lines.
Then the clock showed three. Catherine had to appear on the
platform. Verreker disappeared by the back door and reappeared
shortly in the stalls as a member of the audience. The greatest
violinist in England commenced to tune up. The secretary of the
University Musical Society placed Catherine’s music on the music
rest, and prepared himself for the task of turning over the pages.
Then the Kreutzer commenced. For over half an hour the performers
worked hard, and then tumultuous applause indicated that
Cambridge appreciated the sacrifice offered up at the altar of the
academic muse. Beethoven had finally routed Debussy.
Catherine’s solo was the Rondo Capriccioso. It was encored, and
she played a simple minuet of Beethoven. Afterwards a Haydn
Concerto was laboriously worked through, and by the conclusion of
that the concert was over and the time a quarter to five.
Verreker saw her at the back entrance. He was in a hurry and
had only time to say: “See me at the ’Varsity Arms Hotel at seven to-
night.” Then he snatched up a bundle of lecture notes and departed
down Bene’t Street.
§8
In Downing Street that afternoon she met Buckland, one of the
leading professors of Economics. They had met several times before
at Verreker’s house at Upton Rising. After a few insignificant remarks
Catherine said:
“So you have asked Verreker to come up and lecture, I notice?”
Buckland smiled.
“Well, we didn’t exactly ask him. He asked himself. Of course, we
are very glad to get him. As a matter of fact, he wrote to me saying
he should be in Cambridge to-day and suggesting that I should fix up
a lecture appointment for him. Only I’m afraid it won’t be well
attended: there has been such short notice.”
The rest of Buckland’s remarks were comparatively of no
significance at all. All that mattered to Catherine was this sudden
amazing revelation of something that Verreker had done. He had
come to Cambridge, not primarily to deliver a lecture on Economics,
but for something else. He had intended to come to Cambridge on
this particular date, even if a lecture could not be arranged for. What,
then, could be the real, the primary, the basic object of his visit?
Obviously it was her concert that attracted him, and how could it be
her concert? He had scores of opportunities of visiting her concerts
in London. He was not (he had frequently asserted) an admirer of
her playing. He knew she was going to play the Kreutzer Sonata,
and he hated the Kreutzer Sonata. The Guildhall he had declared
unequivocally to be the ugliest building in England. It could not be
the concert that brought him to Cambridge. Then what could it be?
All the way from the café in Sidney Street to the University Arms
Hotel, Catherine debated that question.
Could it be herself, for instance?
That was a very daring thought for her to think. For all the past
was strewn with the memories of occasions on which he had insulted
her, avoided her, ignored her, shown her as much consideration as if
she were no more than the dust he trod on. And yet (it was strange
that this had never entirely occurred to her before) this was no worse
than the treatment he accorded to everybody. She had never known
him to be polite. Even when he was trying to be so it was for him so
consciously an effort that he appeared sarcastically urbane and
nothing more. She had suffered his vagaries of temper no more than
others who knew him. And their arguments! Was it not a subtle mark
of his appreciation of her that he condescended to spend irritating
hours explaining to her what a fool she was? Was not the very pain
she had suffered something she might have treasured as indicating
his deep and abiding interest in her?
He was standing at the entrance of the hotel when she came in
sight. Not often since that night at the Forest Hotel had she seen him
in evening dress, and now she was reminded poignantly of that far-
off occasion with all its strangely distorted memories. He descended
the steps to meet her. His handshake was cordial. The whole of his
attitude towards her seemed different from anything she had
previously experienced.
“Come into the lounge,” he said, and took her arm. “I’ve been
waiting for you.”
She was ten minutes late, and was glad to think he had noticed it
and had been kept waiting. And besides that, she was amazed at his
cordiality, at the sudden phase of courtliness which prompted him to
take her arm as they strolled down the hotel lobby. She felt that her
arm touching his was trembling, and she summoned every effort,
mental and physical, to curb this manifestation of her excitement.
They entered the lounge and occupied adjacent positions on a
chesterfield. The room was comfortably full of fashionably dressed
men and women. Catherine felt that many eyes of recognition were
upon her. But that caused her no thrill of pleasurable triumph. Her
mind and soul were centred on this unique phenomenon that was
unfolding itself to her by degrees—Verreker, the curt, the abrupt, the
brutally direct, transformed into a veritable grandee of courtliness.
In the dining-hall they had a table to themselves that overlooked
the dark spaciousness of Parker’s Piece. Once again she was
quaintly fascinated by the peculiarities of his table manners. In this
respect, at any rate, he was still himself, and she marvelled at the
intense personality that crowded into every movement, however
bizarre and unconventional, of his knife and fork. Evening dress
gave his weird facial expressions a touch of sublimity. She looked
round at the other tables and compared him with men there. There
was scarcely one that was not more handsome than he, certainly
none whose table manners were not infinitely smoother and more
refined. There were men whose cheeks and chin were smooth as a
shave ten minutes ago could make them. A glance at Verreker
showed that a razor had not touched him for at least twenty-four
hours. Other men had hair carefully brushed and pomaded,
artistically parted in the middle or at the side, compelled into spray-
like festoons above the ears. But Verreker’s hair was black and thick,
coarse, horsey hair, innocent of pomade and parting, hair that he
occasionally ran his fingers through without in any real sense
disturbing. Other men in the room were smiling with rows of white
symmetrical teeth, speaking in cultured university accents, gazing
with animated eyes at their fellow-diners. And yet she knew that
compared with him they were all as nothing. The whole secret of him
flashed out upon her. He was a man. His personality invaded
everything he did and everything that belonged to him: it overflowed
like a bursting torrent into his most trivial actions. With all his facial
ugliness, his abrupt manners, his disposition, which people called
“difficult,” he was the towering superior of any man she knew. And
not all the oiled and manicured youths in the world could give her
what he could give. She looked triumphantly round the room as if to
say: This man here, whom you all think is so ugly and ill-mannered,
is, if only you knew it, the personal superior of every one of you! ...
She was proud to be with him, proud of every bizarrerie in him of
which others might be ashamed.
After dinner he led her into the lobby and said: “I want you to
come up into my room for a little while. I have engaged a room with a
piano in it.”
Thrilled and excited, she went with him. The room was heavily
and tastelessly furnished, the piano upright and metallic.
He did not seem particularly conversational.
After a silence he said:
“Oh, what was that little piece you played as an encore this
afternoon?”
“One of Beethoven’s Minuets.”
“Oh?—I don’t remember ever having heard it. Play it now, will
you?”
His courtliness had vanished, for he let her carry a chair to the
piano unassisted.
Towards the conclusion of the piece he rose and stood at her
elbow, leaning on the top of the piano. She could see him frowning.
When she had finished, she was expecting some ruthless technical
criticism of her playing.
But he stood for a long while in silence. Then he said gruffly:
“Damned sentimental. I thought as much.”
“What do you mean?” she asked quietly.
He paused and commenced to walk about the room with his
hands in his pockets.
“Look here,” he began irritably, “when I heard that piece this
afternoon I liked it very much. Then I asked myself why I liked it, and
found it difficult to say. A sensible man should, of course, be
prepared to give reasons for his likes and dislikes. ‘Is it possible,’ I
asked myself, ‘that you like the thing because it is sentimental?’ I
shuffled basely by telling myself: ‘I don’t know: I don’t even
remember if the thing was sentimental.’ ... Well, now I’ve heard it a
second time and I know for certain. It is sentimental—damned oozy,
slimy, slithery sentiment from beginning to end. And the question is:
What the devil’s the matter with me that I should have liked it this
afternoon?”
She turned round to face him and laughed.
“How should I know?” she replied. “Perhaps you’re getting
sentimental.”
“Heaven preserve me from such a fate,” he muttered gruffly. “Play
me a Bach’s fugue to take that beastly sugary taste away.”
She did so, but if ever an attempt was made to infuse sentiment
into a Bach’s fugue, it was on that occasion. All the while her soul
was revelling in a strange airiness.
“Bach would turn in his grave if he could hear,” was his sole
comment when she had finished. “Get up and I’ll show you how to do
it.”
Once again the relationship of master and pupil had ousted every
other.
He played the same fugue over again, and she was lost in
admiration of his supreme technical facility. Obviously this was Bach
as he should be played, Bach as he was meant to be played, every
note mathematically in place and in time; every arpeggio like a row
of stones in one triumphant mosaic. She was not fond of Bach, and
in her deepest self she knew that she disliked him for precisely the
reason that Verreker liked him: he was so totally devoid of
sentimentality. Yet she could not but admire the stern purposefulness
of his style: the lofty grace of his structures, that serene beauty of
which, because it is purely æsthetic, one never tires.
When he had finished she said: “I want you to play some
Debussy.”
At first he seemed disinclined to accede to her request, but after
a few seconds’ pause he started a slow sarabande movement. She
listened enraptured till the end.
“Isn’t that sentiment?” she asked.
“No,” he replied curtly.
“Then what is it?”
He ground his teeth savagely.
“Passion,” he snapped.
“And what,” she asked softly—her voice was trembling—“is the
difference between sentiment and passion?”
He looked at her searchingly.
“Don’t you know?”
“I may do—I’m not certain.”
“Well, if you do know, you don’t need me to tell you, and if you
don’t know, I can’t tell you.”
At a quarter past nine they went downstairs. Catherine was
leaving by the 9.30 train to Liverpool Street. They left by taxi to the
station. Fortunately the train was late, or they would have missed it.
In the alcove formed by two adjacent open carriage doors Catherine
and he stood and talked till the guard whistled for the departure of
the train.
Their farewell was curious. She was leaning out of the window so
that her head was above his. He sprang on to the foot-board as the
train was moving and seized her hand. She wondered what he was
going to do. She thought perhaps he might be going to kiss her. She
waited for what seemed hours and then he suddenly vanished into
the gloom of the station platform. Almost simultaneously she heard a
porter’s raucous voice crying out: “Clear away there! What d’yer
think yer doin’——” The rest trailed into inarticulate sound. Obviously
he had been pulled down.
The whole incident was somewhat undignified.
Yet all the way to Liverpool Street she was speculating on what
he had been about to do when the porter pulled him away.
And she was happier than she had ever been in her life.
§9
In the bedroom of her cottage at High Wood, Catherine stood in
front of the cheval glass and eyed herself critically. It seemed to her
in that moment that a miracle had happened, a door unlocked to her
that she thought would be for ever closed, a dream which she had
scarcely dared to glimpse, even from afar, brought suddenly and
magically within her grasp. A miracle indeed, and yet the very ease
with which she acclimatized herself to new conditions gave almost
the impression that the miracle had been to some extent anticipated,
that she had so prepared and organized her soul that she could slip
into the new scheme of things with a minimum of perturbation.
Standing before the mirror, she was surprised at her own
calmness. And the more she pondered, the more stupendous
seemed the miracle, and consequently the more amazing her own
attitude. Already it seemed that she was beginning to take for
granted what a day before had been a dream so far from fulfilment
that she had scarcely dared to admit it into coherent form. A day ago
the idea that her affection for Verreker was reciprocated seemed the
wildest phantasy: she had not dared even to think of such a thing
hypothetically, for fear it should grow into her life as something
confidently expected: yet dim and formless it had lurked behind all
her thoughts and ideas; shadowy and infinitely remote, it had guided
and inspired her with greater subtlety than she knew. But now it need
no longer be dim and formless: it entered boldly into the strong light
of day, into the definition of word and sentence: she could ask
herself plainly the question, “Does he love me?” because deep down
in her heart she knew that he did. Her instinct told her that he did,
but she was quite prepared to doubt her own instinct. She did not
know that her feminine instinct in such a matter was nearly infallible.
But she was no longer afraid of treating herself to the random luxury
of thinking and dreaming.
All at once she was seized with a terrible sense of absurdity and
incongruity. Was it possible, was it even remotely conceivable that
he should love her? She did not know that she was on the brink of
the perennial mystery that has surprised millions of men and women:
she felt that her question was singularly acute and penetrating. What
was there in her that could attract him? Not her intellect, for he knew
full well the measure of that. Not her musical genius, for he was not
an admirer of it. Not her sympathies and ideals common to his, for
she was incapable of understanding the major part of him. Nor even
her beauty, for she was not beautiful. What, then, could it be? And
the answer was that love, the force he despised, the elemental thing
to which he conceived himself superior, had linked him to her by
bonds that he had not the power to sever. The strong man had
toppled. He suddenly ceased to be a god in the clouds and became
a human being on her earth. Would his ideals crumble to dust at the
touch of this mighty enslaving force? Would he shatter the dreams of
a lifetime, those mighty dreams of his that had nothing to do with
love, would he shatter them and lay the ruins at her feet? How would
he reconcile the iron rigidity of his theories with the impulse of his
passion?
There had been a time when she thought: All I want is his
friendship, his sympathy, his understanding, the consciousness that
our souls are affinite. Intellectual and spiritual sympathy with him,
she had argued, is the summit of my ambition. To talk with him on
terms of candid intimacy, to be the sharer of his deepest
confidences, to realize in their relationship something of the glorious
male ideal of camaraderie, that had been her grand aim. She had
deceived herself. That was not so. In the moment that he stood on
the foot-board of the departing train at Cambridge every vestige of
the platonic camouflage was torn from her. There was one thought
that was infinitely more rapturous, infinitely more seductive and
alluring, than even the thought that he and she were on terms of
deep intellectual and spiritual intimacy. And that was the thought that
whilst he was standing there on the foot-board he was wondering
whether to kiss her. If now her platonic dreams were to be fulfilled,
she would be strangely and subtly disappointed. Deep communion
with a god-like personality was fine. But she preferred the impulse
that changed the deity into a man, that dragged him from the stars
into the streets, that caused all his dreams and ideals to be obscured
by that single momentous triviality, the desire to kiss her.
She was cruel, merciless in her hour of seeming triumph. She
loved him more passionately than ever now that he was a being
dethroned from heaven. She had thought formerly: I cannot
understand him: we are on a different plane. But now she thought:
He has come down to my plane. One thing at least I can understand:
I can understand why he wanted to kiss me. And that crude fragment
of understanding was more precious to her than all the subtleties
and spiritual nuances which had made his soul a hitherto uncharted
sea.
If she could break his ideals, if she could shatter everything in
him that had nothing to do with her, she would be glad. Already, not
content with the footing she had gained on what had seemed an
unscalable cliff, she wanted to dominate the heights and destroy
everything that was independent of her. Never had the essential
selfishness of her nature so revealed itself. She grudged him every
acre of his soul that was not sown with seeds of her own planting.
She wanted him, all of him, passionately, selfishly: his soul and
intellect would be for ever beyond her, so she was jealous of their
freedom. That he should fall from the lofty heights of his idealism
was epic, a thing of high tragedy, yet thrilling with passion: that she
should be the means of it was something that convulsed her with
rapture. Her passion was terrible and destructive. She wanted it to
scorch his soul until he desired nothing save what she could give.
She wanted entire possession of him: she grudged him everything
that was beyond her comprehension.
§ 10
All this was somewhat premature.
As yet he had not spoken a word save what was easily
compatible with disinterested friendship. He had treated her many
times with such curtness and incivility that it seemed absurd on the
face of it to imagine that he could love her. And yet there was in her
that strange instinct which told her that he did.
After her return from Cambridge she began to wonder when she
should see him again. Since she had left Mrs. Carbass and had
taken the cottage at High Wood, he had been a moderately frequent
visitor. He liked the situation of “Elm Cottage,” he liked to sit in a
deck-chair on the lawn and watch the sun dipping down over the
roofs of Upton Rising. The æsthetic pleasure made him talkative and
companionable. In the summer time she would open the windows
and play Debussy on the baby grand piano she had bought. She had
furnished the interior in masculine taste. There were great brown
leather armchairs of the kind common enough in clubs, and
innumerable facilities for smoking (she was not a great smoker
herself), and a general atmosphere of freedom and geniality. She
had bought an expensive club-fender with leather seats at either end
and a leather rail, because she had noticed that at his own house he
liked to sit with his back to the flames. The front room was really very
comfortable and cosy, though she was lost when she sat in either of
the two great armchairs.
There was no particular business reason why he should see her,
yet for several nights after his return to Upton Rising she expected
him to come. She laid in a stock of his favourite cigarettes: she
diligently learned a little known and mathematical work of Bach
because she knew he would appreciate it. But he did not come.
Then she had a spell of concerts which kept her in town until nearly
midnight: he did not come to see her after the performance, as he
sometimes did, so that she did not know if he had been among the
audience or not. She knew that he had returned from Cambridge,
and she knew that an abstruse work on sociology was occupying a
good deal of his time and attention. Yet it seemed strange that he did
not visit her. Their farewell on Cambridge platform was already past
history, and she sometimes found it hard to believe it had taken
place at all. She wanted further proof that it was no delusion. She felt
that every day made that incident more isolated, more inconsistent,
more meaningless. And in another sense every day was adding to its
tremendous significance.
A fortnight passed and still he did not come. She did not want to
go and see him. She wanted him to come and see her. She made a
vow: I am not going to see him; I am going to wait till he comes to
see me: if he doesn’t want to, he needn’t. And she was glad when a
concert or other engagement kept her busy in the evenings, for the
temptation to break her vow was strong if she were alone at “Elm
Cottage.”
On Christmas Day the temptation was overmastering. An offer
from a Scotch concert agency had come by post that morning, and
she found it easy to persuade herself that she had to visit him to talk
it over.
Snow was falling through the skeleton trees on the Ridgeway as
she approached “Claremont.” Through the window of the front room
she could catch the glow of leaping flames. That indicated that he
was at home. He had no relatives and no friends of the kind that
would share Christmas Day with him. Besides, he was quite
impervious to the Christmas type of sentimentality. Yet possibly he
would be pleased to see her.
She found him sitting on the club-fender with the fire behind him.
He was reading long proof-slips. As she entered he merely glanced
up casually.
“Come in,” he drawled, and went on correcting until he had
finished the slip.
There are no words to convey how deeply that annoyed her.
“Well,” he began, when the last marginal correction had been
inserted, “and how are you getting on?”
“All right,” she asserted, with some pique. Then, in a spitefully
troubled tone: “What have you been doing with yourself since you
came back from Cambridge?”
He pointed to the litter of proof-slips on the floor.
“Working,” he replied.
“I half expected you’d come and see me,” she remarked
tentatively.
“So did I,” he replied quietly, “but I didn’t after all....”
“What d’you mean?”
“I mean I half thought I might visit you. I really didn’t know....”
“I suppose you didn’t want to.”
“On the contrary, I wanted to very much. That was just why I
didn’t.”
“I don’t quite——”
“Listen. Did I ever tell you that I detest worms?”
“No, but what——?”
“Well, I do. I can’t stand them at any price.”
“Nor can I, but how——”
“Listen. When I was a tiny boy it used to send me almost into
hysterics if I touched one, even by accident. Well, when I grew older,
I used to despise myself for being so weak-minded. I used to gather
all the worms I could find, fat juicy ones, you know, with red bellies,
put them all into one single writhing heap and run my fingers through
the lot! My flesh crept with the loathsomeness of it: I was often sick
and gasping with horror after I had done it. But it gave me
confidence, because it taught me I wasn’t at the mercy of arbitrary
feelings. It showed me that I had myself under iron control....”
“Well?”
“Since I returned from Cambridge I have wanted to see you so
often and so intensely that it seemed to me a capital opportunity for
finding out if that iron control had at all relaxed.... I am pleased to say
that it has not done so.”
“But you wanted to see me?”
“I did.”
“Then what on earth was there to keep you from coming to visit
me?”
“Nothing at all except this—my own desire to be complete master
of myself—greater even than my desire to see you.”
“Why did you want to see me?”
“I could think of no sensible reason for desiring to see you, and
that was why I decided not to.”
“Are you glad I have come now?”
“No. I am sorry. You have interrupted my work.”
“Have I? Thanks for telling me. Then I’ll go——”
“Your going would not alter the fact that my work has been
interrupted. I shall do no more work to-day, whether you go or not. I
—I”—his voice became thick with anger, or scorn, or some complex
combination of the two—“I have—been—spiritually interrupted!”
She took off her thick furs and muff.
“I’m going to stay,” she said quietly, “and we’re going to have tea
and then go for a walk. I think you and your arguments are very silly.”
It was immensely significant, that final sentence of hers. Before,
she would never have dared to say such a thing to him. But now she
felt he was in some strange way delivered into her power: she was
not afraid of treating him like a baby. The truth was, he was no
longer a god to her. And her task was, if possible, to strip from him
the last remnants of his divinity. His strange conversation she had
but half understood: but it immensely reassured her as to this subtle
and mysterious power she possessed over him. But she divined that
her task was difficult: she feared an explosion that would be
catastrophic. The atmosphere was too tense for either comfort or
safety: she would have to lower the temperature. And all the time her
own heart was a raging furnace within her.
“Mrs. Tebbutt is out,” he said gruffly. “I’m hanged if I know where
anything is. I was going to go out to tea at Mason’s.” (Mason’s was
the café in the Bockley High Street.)
“How like a man not to know where anything is!” she commented
lightly, removing her hat. “Never mind, I’ll soon find out. And you’ll be
saved the trouble of going to Mason’s.”
She discovered it was absurdly easy to treat him like a baby.
She found crockery and food without much difficulty, and while
she was making tea he followed her about from room to room,
chatting quite genially. His surliness seemed to vanish entirely: he
became charmingly urbane. Evidently her method of treatment bad
been completely successful. The tension of the atmosphere had
been very much lowered, and he seemed quite schoolboyish in his
amateur assistance at what he called “indoor picnicking.” As she
emerged from cupboards carrying cups and plates and fancy cakes
he looked at her very much as if she were a species of conjurer.
They behaved just like a couple of jolly companions as they sat
round the fire and had tea.
§ 11
Afterwards he became less conversational.
“Leave the things,” he commanded. “Mrs. Tebbutt will see to them
when she gets back.”
“All right,” she agreed. “Now we’re going for a walk, eh?”
“I’ve got heaps of work——” he began.
“Not on Christmas Day,” she urged.
“Oh, that makes no difference.”

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Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for

ISBN 9781119834687 (Hardback); 9781119834694 (Adobe PDF); 9781119834717 (e-Pub)

Cover Design: Wiley

Set in 9.5/12.5pt STIXTwoText by Straive, Pondicherry, India

Preface to the Second Edition xi

1 Interaction of the Nuclear Radiation with Detector Absorbers 1

2 Radiation Detectors with Superconducting Absorbers 23

2.4.3 The Tunneling Mechanisms in STJs 49

3 Radiation Detectors with Normal Metal Absorbers 73

4 Radiation Detectors with Semiconductor Absorbers 95

5 Front-End Readout Electronic Circuits for Quantum Cryogenic Detectors 183

6 The Energy Resolution of Radiation Spectrometers 285

6.7 Frequency Division Multiplexing with Microwave SQUIDs (μMUX) 311

7 Signal Processing in Radiation Spectrometers 321

8 Ultralow Temperature (ULT) Cryogenic Arrangements 373

9 Applications of Radiation Spectrometers Based on Quantum Cryogenic Detectors 409

Preface to the Second Edition

1) Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) Detectors operating in a sub-1 K range (Chapters 2,3);

Based on Consists of Requires Makes use of

Material Detector Detector Design

Electronic Digital Test

Signal Firm ware,

Systemization Connectivity Certification

7800 8000 8200 8400 8600 8800 9000

Preface to the First Edition

Interaction of the Nuclear Radiation with Detector Absorbers

The pre-interaction The post-interaction

Figure 1.1.1 Schematic representation of the nuclear particle absorption process.

The pre-interaction The post-interaction

(b) Recoiling target

The pre-interaction The post-interaction

1.1 The Intrinsic Quantum Efficiency of Radiation Detectors

N abs = N ph 1 − exp μpl t pl 113

1.2 Detection of Charged Particles

Light particles Heavy particles Super-heavy ions

Electrons Protons Heavy nuclei

Positrons Biomolecules and

Figure 1.2.1 The classification of charged nuclear particles.

1.2.1 Light-Charged Particles

– The secondary electrons;

1.2.1.1 Attenuation Function for Charged Nuclear Particles

charged particle itself, a specifically defined ionization range

~3/2Δ so that one final scattering from the valence electron

a) For electrons and β-particles,

1.2.2 The Continuous “Braking” Radiation

The long-range Coulomb forces of nuclei exert a strong influence

where E is an energy of interest.

irradiation. To demonstrate the intensity of the braking radia- Si Kα

1.2.4 Heavy-Charged Particles

104 Si detector Protons

0.01 0.10 1.00 10.00 0.1 1.0 10.0

1.3 Primary Interactions of X- and γ-Ray Photons with Solid-State Absorbers

1) The photoelectric effect;