Workshop on "Determination of the Absolute Electron (Anti-)Neutrino Mass"

ELECTRON - Development of High Resolution Metallic Microcalorimeters for a Future Neutrino Mass Experiment

Apr 14, 2026, 5:13 PM

2m

Gaede Foyer (KIT Campus South)

Poster Posters

Speaker

Neven Kovac (Institute for Astroparticle Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

Description

Metallic Magnetic Calorimeters (MMCs) are low temperature single particle detectors, whose working principle is based on quantum technology. Due to their excellent energy resolution, near linear detector response, fast signal rise time and close to 100\% quantum efficiency, MMCs outperform conventional detectors by several orders of magnitude, making them interesting for a wide range of different applications.
The aim of the ELECTRON project was to demonstrate, for the first time, that MMC based detectors can be employed for a high resolution spectroscopy of external electron sources, namely electron-gun, Kr-83m and tritium.
Technology and methods developed within the context of the ELECTRON project will pave a way for the next generation neutrino experiments with tritium, employing a differential detector based on quantum technology.
Possible future applications include the next phase of the KATRIN neutrino mass experiment, aiming at sub-200 meV sensitivity to electron (anti-)neutrino mass, as well as the detection of the cosmic neutrino background.
With this poster, we present the characterization measurements of the MMC-based detectors using external electrons, together with the measured Kr-83m spectrum.