Cryogenic light detectors with thermal signal amplification for $0\nu\beta\beta$ search experiments

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that Neganov-Trofimov-Luke (NTL) signal amplification in cryogenic Ge light detectors enhances sensitivity and reduces noise, supporting their use in neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments like CUPID.

Contribution

We developed and tested cryogenic Ge light detectors with NTL amplification, achieving high gain and low noise, suitable for background reduction in $0 uetaeta$ searches.

Findings

Achieved a gain of around 9 in signal-to-noise ratio at 80 V bias.

Baseline noise RMS of approximately 10 eV was obtained.

Demonstrated viability of NTL technology for background suppression in CUPID.

Abstract

As a step towards the realization of cryogenic-detector experiments to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (such as CROSS, BINGO, and CUPID), we investigated a batch of 10 Ge light detectors (LDs) assisted by Neganov-Trofimov-Luke (NTL) signal amplification. Each LD was assembled with a large cubic light-emitting crystal (45 mm side) using the recently developed CROSS mechanical structure. The detector array was operated at milli-Kelvin temperatures in a pulse-tube cryostat at the Canfranc underground laboratory in Spain. We achieved good performance with scintillating bolometers from CROSS, made of Li$_{2}$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ crystals and used as reference detectors of the setup, and with all LDs tested (except for a single device that encountered an electronics issue). No leakage current was observed for 8 LDs with an electrode bias up to 100 V. Operating the LDs at an 80 V electrode bias applied in parallel, we obtained a gain of around 9 in the signal-to-noise ratio of these devices, allowing us to achieve a baseline noise RMS of $O$(10 eV). Thanks to the strong current polarization of the temperature sensors, the time response of the devices was reduced to around half a millisecond in rise time. The achieved performance of the LDs was extrapolated via simulations of pile-up rejection capability for several configurations of the CUPID detector structure. Despite the sub-optimal noise conditions of the LDs (particularly at high frequencies), we demonstrated that the NTL technology provides a viable solution for background reduction in CUPID.