Subnanosecond time response of large-area superconducting stripline detectors for keV molecular ions

Abstract

A large-area (200×200 μm2) superconducting stripline detector based on a parallel configuration of superconducting Nb nanowires is presented. We show that the parallel configuration provides a smart way to control the physical nonequilibrium state induced by the molecular impacts, which allows realizing large sensitive area and subnanosecond response at the same time. The experiments were carried out with molecular ions radiation in a keV energy range. The observed rise time was below 400 ps and the relaxation time was 500 ps, the best in this class of superconducting molecular detectors.