Speaker
Description
We present ongoing progress in developing a sub-keV nuclear recoil calibration facility at NEXUS (located underground in MINOS at Fermilab) for future calibration of cryogenic detectors in rare-event searches. Initially developed as a part of SuperCDMS operations, project development is centered on a segmented backing array and a 2.5-MeV Deuterium-Deuterium (DD) neutron generator. The backing array consists of plastic scintillator (EJ-200) detectors
instrumented with a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout, enabling scintillation-based detection of scattered neutrons. The facility provides a controlled platform for studying low-energy nuclear recoil detector response, ionization yield, and threshold behavior, ultimately enabling improved sensitivity for rare-event searches.