A gravity-based mounting approach for large-scale cryogenic calorimeter arrays

Abstract

Cryogenic calorimeters are among the leading technologies for searching for rare events. The CUPID experiment is exploiting this technology to deploy a tonne-scale detector to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 100 Mo. The CUPID collaboration proposed an innovative approach to assembling cryogenic calorimeters in a stacked configuration, held in position solely by gravity. This gravity-based assembly method is unprecedented in the field of cryogenic calorimeters and offers several advantages, including relaxed mechanical tolerances and simplified construction. To assess and optimize its performance, we constructed a medium-scale prototype hosting 28 Li 2 MoO 4 crystals and 30 Ge light detectors, both operated as cryogenic calorimeters at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy). Despite an unexpected excess of noise in the light detectors, the results of this test proved (i) a thermal stability better than ±0.5 mK at 10 mK, (ii) a good energy resolution of Li 2 MoO 4 cryogenic calorimeters, (6.6 ± 2.2) keV FWHM at 2615 keV, and (iii) a Li 2 MoO 4 light yield measured by the closest light detector of 0.36 keV/MeV, sufficient to guarantee the particle identification requested by CUPID.