Beam Tests of SNSPDs with 120 GeV Protons

TL;DR

This study evaluates how wire width affects the detection efficiency of superconducting nanowire detectors exposed to 120 GeV protons, highlighting the importance of wire dimensions for optimizing performance in accelerator environments.

Contribution

It provides experimental data on the impact of wire width on SNSPD efficiency under high-energy proton irradiation, a novel investigation for accelerator applications.

Findings

Wire width is a critical factor for detection efficiency.

Wires wider than 400 nm show reduced efficiency at low bias.

Larger wire widths lead to inefficiencies, especially at low bias currents.

Abstract

We report the test results for a 120 GeV proton beam incident on superconducting nanowire particle detectors of various wire sizes. NbN devices with the same sensitive area were fabricated with different wire widths and tested at a temperature of 2.8 K. The relative detection efficiency was extracted from bias current scans for each device. The results show that the wire width is a critical factor in determining the detection efficiency and larger wire widths than 400 nm leads to inefficiencies at low bias currents. These results are particularly relevant for novel applications at accelerator facilities, such as the Electron-Ion Collider, where cryogenic cooling is readily available.