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An increasing number of experiments employ low-temperature radiation/particle detectors which are based on a calorimetric detection scheme and operate at temperatures below 100 mK. Metallic magnetic calorimeters use a metallic paramagnetic temperature sensor in tight thermal contact with the X-ray absorber. The magnetization of the sensor is used to monitor the temperature change of the detector upon the absorption of single photons, which is proportional to the absorbed energy. Low-noise high-bandwidth dc superconducting quantum interference devices read out the small changes in magnetization. An energy resolution of ΔE[subFWHM] = 2.7 eV was obtained for X-ray energies up to 6 keV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcalorimeters operating at low temperatures have proven to be suitable tools for high resolution x-ray spectroscopy. Metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMCs) are one kind of such detectors. The operation of a MMC is based on the temperature dependence of the magnetization of a paramagnetic material such as Au doped with Er in a small magnetic field. The temperature of a x-ray absorber, in thermal contact with the paramagnetic material, can be monitored with high sensitivity by using a dc superconducting quantum interference device. An energy resolution of one part in 1000 at 6 keV has now been demonstrated for MMCs. We report on the recent progress in the development of MMCs and discuss the limitations of such devices resulting from fundamental noise sources. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]