About the Experiment The SuperCDMS (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) collaboration has pioneered the use of low-temperature solid-state detectors to search for the rare scattering of dark matter particles with atomic nuclei. This technology provides excellent background rejection, detailed information on each interaction and very low energy thresholds. This allows unparalleled sensitivity especially to dark matter particles with small masses. The next-generation (G2) SuperCDMS experiment will operate in the deepest underground laboratory in North America, SNOLAB, to provide shielding from high energy cosmic ray particles. It will include a cryogenics system designed to maintain the detectors at temperatures within a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, and special clean shielding materials to exclude radioactive backgrounds from the environment. The detectors are modular, and arranged in towers that provide electrical connections and cooling. Some of the detectors will be operated in a way that provides ultra low energy thresholds, but reduced background rejection. This will extend the reach of the experiment to dark matter particle masses below that of the proton. The experiment will be designed to allow additional detector target mass up to 400 kg, with the possibility of incorporating different types of solid-state detectors.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy