Speaker
Description
The pursuit of MeV-scale dark matter detection demands highly sensitive instrumentation capable of resolving energy deposits in the sub-eV range. This study introduces a novel Germanium Internal Charge Amplification (GeICA) detector engineered to internally amplify charge signals, significantly lowering the detection threshold. Leveraging ultra-pure, USD-grown germanium crystals and operating at cryogenic temperatures down to the millikelvin regime, the detector takes advantage of charge freeze-out and dipole state formation to achieve enhanced responsiveness to low-energy dark matter interactions. The experimental setup at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s shallow underground facility features a custom-fabricated planar PPC germanium detector integrated into a dilution refrigerator, with signal readout through a low-noise charge amplification circuit. Initial current-voltage measurements demonstrate a stable GeICA response below 6.5 K, with observable internal gain initiated at bias voltages exceeding 700 V. These advancements establish a critical step toward the development of next-generation detectors for dark matter and neutrino research, with promising applicability to future low-threshold search experiments.
