In the quest to detect exceedingly rare cosmic events shedding light on the universe’s fundamental mysteries, research teams worldwide face a challenge akin to tuning a radio amidst a cacophony of static noise. This interference stems not only from cosmic radiation but also from the very electronics designed to capture elusive signals. To address this issue, a collaborative effort between the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and California-based Q-Flex Inc. has yielded ultra-pure electronic cables, detailed in the journal EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation.

These specialized cables represent a groundbreaking advancement, boasting radio contaminant concentrations as low as 20-31 pg 238U/g, 12-13 pg 232Th/g, and 40-550 ng natK/g. This remarkable achievement promises to revolutionize the field of rare-event physics, enabling experiments like DAMIC-M, OSCURA, and nEXO to operate with unprecedented sensitivity. The cables’ extraordinary radiopurity allows a deeper exploration of dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay, two enigmatic phenomena pivotal to understanding the universe’s composition and structure.

Furthermore, the potential applications of these low-radioactivity cables extend beyond physics experiments. They could be crucial in minimizing ionizing radiation’s impact on future quantum computers, enhancing their performance. The meticulous, choreographed fabrication process, involving rigorous cleanliness measures and contaminant evaluation at each stage, presents a template for investigating radio contaminants in other material production processes. This innovative cable technology brings us closer to unraveling the universe’s mysteries. It allows researchers to finally fine-tune their instruments to the universe’s faintest signals amidst the cosmic noise.

The team’s findings were published in EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation.

References

• Arnquist, I. J., Di Vacri, M. L., Rocco, N., Saldanha, R., Schlieder, T., Patel, R., Patil, J., Perez, M., & Uka, H. (2023). Ultra-low radioactivity flexible printed cables. EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation, 10(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjti/s40485-023-00104-6
• Hede, K. & Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. (2023, September 21). Quiet cables set to help reveal rare physics events. Phys.Org. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-quiet-cables-reveal-rare-physics.html