[en] We report the design of amorphous NbSi thin film bolometer thermometers on Silicon Nitride membranes. Due to the low-thermal conductivity of Si₃N₄, this material has several applications in millimeter wavelength bolometers and microcalorimetry. Compared to NTD-Ge thermometers, similar sensitivities are obtained with a 50 times lesser volume. The smallest realized films have a rectangular surface (100x400 μm²) and are 100 nm thick. Optimization of the thermometer shape, NbSi composition and electrical material contact is discussed. The goal of this development is to manufacture a complete array of bolometers by photolithography techniques

[en] The development of large arrays of detectors requires using a proximate electronics at low temperatures for signal multiplexing and amplification. We report the use of commercial High Electronic Mobility Transistors (HEMT) for multiplexing signals from high impedance LTD arrays (typ. 10-100 MΩ). The electronic architecture is based on HEMTs cooled at 0.1 K for the multiplexer and a JFET amplifier cooled at 100 K with <1 nV/Hz^1/2 noise figure. For this time-multiplexing scheme, a capacitor is used to integrate the signal between measurements. Two main solutions are compared for the detectors polarization: the first uses a classical resistive method; the second uses a common capacitor allowing to polarize the detectors individually. The multiplexing ratio is mainly limited by the amplifier noise to about 20 detectors per amplifier with a pixel sampling rate of about 60 Hz. A specific development of HEMT arrays with Quantum Point Contacts (QPC-HEMT) with very small grid-to-channel capacitor (∼1 fF) allows minimizing the transient effects and realizing a close integration with the LTD arrays

[en] The Cryogenic Underground Test (CUTE) facility will be located 2 km underground in the SNOLAB laboratory, near Sudbury (Ontario, Canada). It is primarily designed to test the performances of cryogenic detectors of the Super-Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) experiment which will be installed next to CUTE. As a facility, it will also be accessible to scientists developing innovative cryogenic detectors for rare events search like dark matter or double-beta decay. The low temperature required to operate the cryogenic detectors is reached via an advanced dry dilution refrigerator from CryoConcept (France). The ‘Ultra Quiet Technique’ (UQT^®) reduces the vibration transmission by using a proprietary gas-coupled thermal link between the two-stage pulse tube and the cryostat. In order to install the cryostat into a shielding water tank, we have developed a suspension system which decouples the cryostat from the environment with a low stiffness support, making a mechanical low-pass filter with a roll-off below 2 Hz for the vertical attenuation. We report the design choices made for the mechanical architecture to limit the vibration transmission and the material selection to achieve a low radioactive background rate in the detector. The expected background rate is less than 5 counts/day per kg of Ge detector in the 0–1 keV energy range.

[en] The contributions of this session addressed several themes: Tools (pumped helium-3 cryostats; dilution based cryostats; principle and application scope of demagnetisation devices; cooling by tunnel evaporation of electrons; very low temperatures without external cryogenic fluid), Very low temperature thermometry - resistive thermometry and its difficulties (temperature control, low temperature electronics), Bolometers (focussing, filtering and absorption; principle of a bolometer with resistive sensor, bolometer matrices, multiplexing; Anderson insulator; superconductors); Signal formation mechanism (high energy phonons, ballistic phonons and final thermalization), Signal acquisition and processing (reduction of noise due to the environment, from the cold pre-amplifier to the hard disk, signal processing and data analysis), and scientific culture (metrology, the microwave cosmological background, other astrophysical applications of cryogenic sensors). Contributions are printed in a different order than they listed in the table of contents

[en] The Olimpo balloon project will use a 120 bolometer camera to observe the sky at four frequencies (143, 217, 385 and 600GHz) with a resolution of 3 to 2 arc-minute. This paper presents the sub-millimeter calibration 'lamp' developed for ground testing and in-flight secondary calibration of bolometric detectors. By design, main features of the device are reproducibility and stability of light flux and millisecond rise time. The radiative device will be placed inside the bolometer camera and will illuminate the bolometer array through a hole in the last 2K mirror. Operation, readout, and monitoring of the device is ensured by warm electronics. Light output flux and duration is programmable, triggered and monitored from a simple computer RS232 interface. It was tested to be reliable in ballooning temperature conditions from -80 to 50 deg. C. Design and test's results are explained

[en] This document gathers Power Point presentations. A first session proposes an introduction to superconductivity, and presentations of modern cryogenic techniques, and on the use of scintillating bolometers in physics. The second session proposed contributions on the detection of neutrinos and calibration sources for detectors, on the neutrino (history and perspectives, science and technological challenges), and on dark matter (history and perspectives, science and technological challenges). The third session addressed kinematic inductance detectors (principles and technology) and TES detectors (principles and technology). The fourth session addressed magnetic metallic calorimeters (principles and technology), low energy astronomy and high energy astronomy (history and perspectives, science and technological challenges). The last session addressed low frequency cryogenic electronics (JFET, MOSFET, HEMT), and principles and applications of dilution-based cryostats without cryogenic liquids

[en] Future cosmic microwave background experiments for high-resolution anisotropy mapping and polarisation detection require large arrays of bolometers at low temperature. We have developed a process to build arrays of antenna-coupled bolometers for that purpose. With adjustment of the Nb_xSi_1-x alloy composition, the array can be made of high impedance or superconductive (TES) sensors

[en] The use of a multiplexing system in close proximity to the detectors simplifies the electronics associated with large arrays of Low Temperature Detectors (LTDs). Here, we report the demonstration of an array of Quantum-Point-Contact High-Electron-Mobility-Transistors (QPC-HEMTs) down to 100mK used to time multiplex the signal from 8 simulated high impedance LTDs (∼10MΩ) to an individual amplifier. Capacitors in parallel with the individual LTDs integrate the signal between measurements so giving a quasi-DC measurement of the LTDs. With the high impedance of the LTD this acts as a filter which counter acts the aliasing of the Johnson noise of the LTD associated with the time-multiplexing technique

[en] This document gathers Power Point presentations. After a general introduction, the following topics have been addressed during the first day: Elementary excitations, Physics of Anderson insulators, Thermal detectors, Silicon technology and Si-doped detectors, Magnetic bolometers, Principle and perspectives of KIDs (Kinetic Inductance Detectors). The second day dealt with FIR and millimetre astronomy: Stakes, Millimetre and sub-millimetre optics, Bolometer matrices for millimetre astrophysics, Superconductivity and cryogenic detection, Hot electron bolometers (HEB) as examples of superconducting junction, Low noise electronics for high impedance sensor, Squids and multiplexing techniques. The topic of the third day was X rays. The contributions dealt with: the IXO mission with micro-calorimeters based on Si detectors for X ray detection, TES detectors for X-rays astrophysics. The fourth day was dedicated to the detection of rare events (dark matter, 2 beta, neutrino, and so on). The authors address the following aspects: Cosmology and dark matter, Direct detection of dark matter, Cryogenic detectors R and D for dark matter, New perspectives in electronics for bolometers, Signal processing, Dilution-based cryostats for instrumentation, Cryogenic techniques below 1 K. The contributions presented on the fifth and last day addressed the following issues: Experiment for the measurement of CMB polarisation, Limitations and perspectives of cryogenic detectors