Setup and calibration of a particle detector based on charge coupled devices

Abstract

Thick Charge Couple Devices have proven to be interesting particle detectors. The DAMIC and CONNIE collaborations are using this technology to search for the elastic scattering of a dark matter particle or a neutrino with a silicon nucleus, producing a nuclear recoil. The experiments reach unprecedented sensitivity at low energies (below 100 eV) by taking advantage of the low readout noise achieved by these devices. The present document describes an experimental setup at the Centra Atomico Bariloche, its noise treatment and its calibration.