Speaker
Description
I will present the design, construction, and commissioning of a highly segmented neutron backing array developed for low-energy nuclear recoil calibration measurements as a contingent of SuperCDMS operations. The array consists of plastic scintillator (EJ-200) detectors instrumented with silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout arranged in a highly segmented geometry to provide precise angular information for neutron-scattering measurements. This segmentation enables neutron scattering angles to be reconstructed and, through two-body elastic-scattering kinematics, provides a constraint on the corresponding nuclear recoil energy in a target detector. Commissioned in tandem as support for cryogenic detectors, this array will improve sensitivity, allowing for more precise study of low-energy detector response, ionization yield, and threshold behavior. I will describe the detector design, construction, readout and data acquisition system, scintillator response characterization, and calibration of the individual detector elements.