Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 81: Search for Dark Matter III

T 81.4: Talk

Thursday, March 19, 2026, 17:00–17:15, AM 00.014

Optimization of Gold Collector Pads for remoTES Sensors on NaI Crystals in the COSINUS Experiment — •Moritz Dörfler for the COSINUS collaboration — Max Planck Institute for Physics, Garching, Germany

Cryogenic calorimeters based on scintillating sodium iodide (NaI) crystals provide a promising approach for direct dark matter searches, as pursued by the COSINUS experiment (Cryogenic Observatory for SIgnatures seen in Next generation Underground Searches) at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). In COSINUS detector modules, particle interactions in the absorber crystal are detected via phonon signals, which are read out by remote Transition Edge Sensors (remoTES). An efficient thermal coupling between the NaI crystal and the sensor is achieved by thin metallic collector pads deposited on the crystal surface and a wire bond connection. This contribution focuses on the development and characterization of gold collector pads used for phonon collection in COSINUS detector modules. The geometry, thickness, and deposition parameters of the gold films are critical for efficient phonon transport from the NaI crystal to the remoTES sensor, while maintaining sufficient mechanical stability and reproducibility. Optimizing the gold*NaI interface is an essential step toward improving the sensitivity and reliability of future COSINUS detector modules and contributes to the overall goal of achieving low-threshold, background-discriminating dark matter searches with NaI-based cryogenic detectors.

Keywords: Cryogenic Detectors; Quantum Sensors; Transition Edge Sensors; Dark Matter