Detector commissioning for the CDMS-II final run at the Soudan Underground Laboratory

Abstract: CDMS-II uses detectors known as Z-sensitive ionization phonons (ZIPs) to search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a very promising candidate for the dark matter in the universe. The most recent data run utilized 12 ZIP detectors (six Ge and six Si) running for year at the Soudan deep underground laboratory (780m below surface), resulting in the current world''s highest sensitivity to WIMP–nucleon coherent interaction [D.S. Akerib, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 211301]. The CDMS-II experiment is approved to run 30 ZIPs until summer 2007 and its goal is to another order of magnitude increase in sensitivity to WIMPs. We present the detector preparation steps leading to the production of the CDMS-II detectors to be used in this final run. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]