X Ray Detection By Superconducting Tunnel Junctions

This volume gives the state-of-the-art on superconducting tunnel junctions as X-ray detectors for low energy radioastronomy. Contributions from major experts of the main laboratories in the world are included. They cover many aspects of the subject, from nonequilibrium phenomena in STJ to the detector design optimization, and report the most recent experimental results in the field.

This is the last of three volumes of the extensively revised and updated second edition of the Handbook of Superconductivity. The past twenty years have seen rapid progress in superconducting materials, which exhibit one of the most remarkable physical states of matter ever to be discovered. Superconductivity brings quantum mechanics to the scale of the everyday world. Viable applications of superconductors rely fundamentally on an understanding of these intriguing phenomena and the availability of a range of materials with bespoke properties to meet practical needs. While the first volume covers fundamentals and various classes of materials, the second addresses processing of these into various shapes and configurations needed for applications, and ends with chapters on refrigeration methods necessary to attain the superconducting state and the desired performance. This third volume starts with a wide range of methods permitting one to characterize both the materials and various end products of processing. Subsequently, diverse classes of both large scale and electronic applications are described. Volume 3 ends with a glossary relevant to all three volumes. Key Features: Covers the depth and breadth of the field Includes contributions from leading academics and industry professionals across the world Provides hands-on familiarity with the characterization methods and offers descriptions of representative examples of practical applications A comprehensive reference, the handbook is suitable for both graduate students and practitioners in experimental physics, materials science, and multiple engineering disciplines, including electronic and electrical, chemical, mechanical, metallurgy and others.

This is the only handbook available on X-ray data. In a concise and informative manner, the most important data connected with the emission of characteristic X-ray lines are tabulated for all elements up to Z = 95 (Americium). The tabulated data are characterized and, in most cases, evaluated. Furthermore, all important processes and phenomena connected with the production, emission and detection of characteristic X-rays are discussed.

Superconductors today constitute a major focus of activity in the development of high resolution detectors for many applications. This volume collects the papers of an international workshop on the basic theoretical and experimental issues involved in the interaction between particles and superconductors. It emphasizes the involved condensed matter aspects of non-equilibrium time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations, metastable superconductivity, quasiparticle and phonon lifetimes, and quasiparticle trapping, as well as low-noise pulse electronics, detector fabrication and low background cryogenics.