Noise at the quantum limit over a broad bandwidth is a fundamental requirement for future cryogenic experiments for neutrino mass measurements, dark matter searches, and Cosmic Microwave Background ...(CMB) measurements as well as for fast high-fidelity read-out of superconducting qubits. In the last years, Josephson Parametric Amplifiers (JPA) have demonstrated noise levels close to the quantum limit, but due to their narrow bandwidth, only few detectors or qubits per line can be read out in parallel. An alternative and innovative solution is based on superconducting parametric amplification exploiting the travelling-wave concept. Within the Detector Array Readout with Travelling Wave AmplifieRS (DARTWARS) project, we develop Kinetic Inductance Travelling-Wave Parametric Amplifiers (KI-TWPAs) for low temperature detectors and qubit read-out. KI-TWPAs are typically operated in a three-wave mixing (3WM) mode and are characterised by a high gain, a high saturation power, a large amplification bandwidth, and nearly quantum limited noise performance. The goal of the DARTWARS project is to optimise the KI-TWPA design, explore new materials, and investigate alternative fabrication processes in order to enhance the overall performance of the amplifier. In this contribution we present the advancements made by the DARTWARS collaboration to produce a working prototype of a KI-TWPA, from the fabrication to the characterisation.
Artificial atoms (AAs) offer the possibility to design physical systems implementing new regimes of ultrastrong coupling (USC) between radiation and matter C. Ciuti et al., Phys. Rev. B
72
, 115303 ...(2005), where previously unexplored non-perturbative physics emerges. While experiments so far provided only spectroscopic evidence of USC, we propose the dynamical detection of virtual photon pairs in the dressed eigenstates, which is a smoking gun of the very existence of USC in nature. We show how to coherently amplify this channel to reach 100% efficiency by operating advanced control similar to stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) N.V. Vitanov et al., Rev. Mod. Phys.
89
, 015006 (2017).
The performance and long term stability of an optically readout Time Projection Chamber with an electron amplification structure based on three Gas Electron Multipliers was studied. He/CF4 based gas ...mixtures were used in two different proportions (60/40 and 70/30) in a CYGNO prototype with 7 litres sensitive volume. With electrical configurations providing very similar electron gains, an almost full detection efficiency in the whole detector volume was found with both mixtures, while a light yield about 20% larger for the 60/40 was found. The electrostatic stability was tested by monitoring voltages and currents during 25 days. The detector worked in very stable and safe condition for the whole period. In the presence of less CF4, a larger probability of unstable events was clearly detected.
Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) working in combination with Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) produce a very sensitive detector capable of observing low energy events. This is achieved by capturing ...photons generated during the GEM electron multiplication process by means of a high-resolution camera. The CYGNO experiment has recently developed a TPC Triple GEM detector coupled to a low noise and high spatial resolution CMOS sensor. For the image analysis, an algorithm based on an adapted version of the well-known DBSCAN was implemented, called iDBSCAN. In this paper a description of the iDBSCAN algorithm is given, including test and validation of its parameters, and a comparison with DBSCAN itself and a widely used algorithm known as Nearest Neighbor Clustering (NNC). The results show that the adapted version of DBSCAN is capable of providing full signal detection efficiency and very good energy resolution while improving the detector background rejection.
The advent of ultra-low noise microwave amplifiers revolutionized several research fields demanding quantum-limited technologies. Exploiting a theoretical bimodal description of a linear ...phase-preserving amplifier, in this contribution we analyze some of the intrinsic properties of a model architecture (i.e., an rf-SQUID based Josephson Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier) in terms of amplification and noise generation for key case study input states (Fock and coherent). Furthermore, we present an analysis of the output signals generated by the parametric amplification mechanism when thermal noise fluctuations feed the device.
The CYGNO project has the goal to use a gaseous TPC with optical readout to detect dark matter and solar neutrinos with low energy threshold and directionality. The CYGNO demonstrator will consist of ...1 m3 volume filled with He:CF4 gas mixture at atmospheric pressure. Optical readout with high granularity CMOS sensors, combined with fast light detectors, will provide a detailed reconstruction of the event topology. This will allow to discriminate the nuclear recoil signal from the background, mainly represented by low energy electron recoils induced by radioactivity. Thanks to the high reconstruction efficiency, CYGNO will be sensitive to low mass dark matter, and will have the potential to overcome the neutrino floor, that ultimately limits non-directional dark matter searches.
Superconducting parametric amplifiers offer the capability to amplify feeble signals with extremely low levels of added noise, potentially reaching quantum-limited amplification. This characteristic ...makes them essential components in the realm of high-fidelity quantum computing and serves to propel advancements in the field of quantum sensing. In particular, Traveling-Wave Parametric Amplifiers (TWPAs) may be especially suitable for practical applications due to their multi-Gigahertz amplification bandwidth, a feature lacking in Josephson Parametric Amplifiers (JPAs), despite the latter being a more established technology. This paper presents recent developments of the DARTWARS (Detector Array Readout with Traveling Wave AmplifieRS) project, focusing on the latest prototypes of Kinetic Inductance TWPAs (KITWPAs). The project aims to develop a KITWPA capable of achieving 20 dB of amplification. To enhance the production yield, the first prototypes were fabricated with half the length and expected gain of the final device. In this paper, we present the results of the characterization of one of the half-length prototypes. The measurements revealed an average amplification of approximately 9 dB across a 2 GHz bandwidth for a KITWPA spanning 17 mm in length.
The CYGNO collaboration is developing next generationdirectional Dark Matter (DM) detection experiments, using gaseousTime Projection Chambers (TPCs), as a robust method for identifyingWeakly ...Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) below the NeutrinoFog. SF6 is potentially ideal for this since it provides a highfluorine content, enhancing sensitivity to spin-dependentinteractions and, as a Negative Ion Drift (NID) gas, reduces chargediffusion leading to improved positional resolution. CF4,although not a NID gas, has also been identified as a favourable gastarget as it provides a scintillation signal which can be used for acomplimentary light/charge readout approach. These gases can operateat low pressures to elongate Nuclear Recoil (NR) tracks andfacilitate directional measurements. In principle, He could be addedto low pressure SF6/CF4 without significant detriment to thelength of 16S, 12C, and 19F recoils. This wouldimprove the target mass, sensitivity to lower WIMP masses, and offerthe possibility of atmospheric operation; potentially reducing thecost of a containment vessel. In this article, we present gas gainand energy resolution measurements, taken with a Multi-Mesh ThickGaseous Electron Multiplier (MMThGEM), in low pressure SF6 andCF4:SF6 mixtures following the addition of He. We find thatthe CF4:SF6:He mixtures tested were able to produce gas gainson the order of 104 up to a total pressure of 100 Torr. Theseresults demonstrate an order of magnitudeimprovement 1 in charge amplification in NID gasmixtures with a He component.
Josephson junctions, in appropriate configurations, can be excellent candidates for detection of single photons in the microwave frequency band. Such possibility has been recently addressed in the ...framework of galactic axion detection. Here are reported recent developments in the modelling and simulation of dynamic behaviour of a Josephson junction single microwave photon detector. For a Josephson junction to be enough sensitive, small critical currents and operating temperatures of the order of ten of mK are necessary. Thermal and quantum tunnelling out of the zero-voltage state can also mask the detection process. Axion detection would require dark count rates in the order of 0.001 Hz. It is, therefore, is of paramount importance to identify proper device fabrication parameters and junction operation point.
CYGNO is a project realising a cubic meter demonstrator to study the scalability of the performance of the optical approach for the readout of large-volume, GEM-equipped TPC. This is part of the ...CYGNUS proto-collaboration which aims at constructing a network of underground observatories for directional Dark Matter search. The combined use of high-granularity sCMOS and fast sensors for reading out the light produced in GEM channels during the multiplication processes was shown to allow on one hand to reconstruct 3D direction of the tracks, offering accurate energy measurements and sensitivity to the source directionality and, on the other hand, a high particle identification capability very useful to distinguish nuclear recoils. Results of the performed R&D and future steps toward a 30-100 cubic meter experiment will be presented.
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