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Superconducting Transition-Edge-Microcalorimeter X-ray Spectrometer with 2 eV Energy Resolution at 1.5 keV
Published
Author(s)
David A. Wollman, Sae Woo Nam, Dale Newbury, Gene C. Hilton, Kent D. Irwin, Norman F. Bergren, Steven Deiker, David A. Rudman, John M. Martinis
Abstract
We describe the operation and performance of a prototype microcalorimeter ?energy-dispersive? (nondispersive) x-ray spectrometer (mcal EDS) developed at NIST for use in x-ray microanalysis and x-ray astronomy. The low-energy microcalorimeter detector, consisting of an Al-Ag bilayer superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) in thermal contact with a Bi x-ray absorber, is designed for operation in the energy range from 0 keV to 2 keV and is fabricated using a shadow-mask lithographic process. The TES microcalorimeter is cooled by a compact adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator and is mounted on a scanning electron microscope. This device achieves a best energy resolution of 2.0 eV 1 0.1 eV at 1.5 keV, as determined from the analysis of digitized x-ray spectra of a complex glass containing many elements.
Citation
Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research Section A-Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
Wollman, D.
, Nam, S.
, Newbury, D.
, Hilton, G.
, Irwin, K.
, Bergren, N.
, Deiker, S.
, Rudman, D.
and Martinis, J.
(2000),
Superconducting Transition-Edge-Microcalorimeter X-ray Spectrometer with 2 eV Energy Resolution at 1.5 keV, Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research Section A-Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=2624
(Accessed October 9, 2025)