DEPFET detectors for direct detection of MeV Dark Matter particles

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of RNDR DEPFET semiconductor detectors for directly detecting MeV-scale dark matter particles, highlighting their design, performance, and future sensitivity in an unexplored mass region.

Contribution

It introduces the application of RNDR DEPFET detectors for MeV dark matter detection and discusses their performance and future sensitivity potential.

Findings

Prototype measurements demonstrate detector performance.

Sensitivity of 10^{-41} cm^2 for 10 MeV dark matter particles.

Potential to explore uncharted MeV dark matter parameter space.

Abstract

The existence of dark matter is undisputed, while the nature of it is still unknown. Explaining dark matter with the existence of a new unobserved particle is among the most promising possible solutions. Recently dark matter candidates in the MeV mass region received more and more interest. In comparison to the mass region between a few GeV to several TeV, this region is experimentally largely unexplored. We discuss the application of a RNDR DEPFET semiconductor detector for direct searches for dark matter in the MeV mass region. We present the working principle of the RNDR DEPFET devices and review the performance obtained by previously performed prototype measurements. The future potential of the technology as dark matter detector is discussed and the sensitivity for MeV dark matter detection with RNDR DEPFET sensors is presented. Under the assumption of three background events in the region of interest and an exposure of one kg$\cdot$y a sensitivity of $\bar{\sigma}_{\bar{e}} = 10^{-41}$ cm$^{2}$ for dark matter particles with a mass of 10 MeV can be reached.