CDMS photos for downloading

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Closeup of a detector in its mount. A detector of this kind, made of Silicon, was operated in the 1998 run. The photolithographically-fabricated thin film on the surface is the phonon sensor and represents a significant advance over the detectors used in the 1999 run. Silicon and germanium detectors, weighing 100 g and 250 g respectively, are used in CDMS II runs in the Soudan Mine. Larger Image

Project manager Dan Bauer from Fermilab holds one tower of detectors as Vuk Mandic from UC Berkeley examines them. Each tower of detectors contains 1 kilogram of germanium for detecting dark matter and 200 grams of silicon to distinguish WIMPs from neutrons. Thin layers of silicon, aluminum, and tungsten covering the detector surfaces measure both the heat and charge released when a particle interacts inside. Larger Image

A view of the inner layers of the cryostat with two towers installed. Detector towers are mounted in the holes covered by hexagonal plates. The coldest part of the cryostat stays at 10 mK (millikelvin, or thousandths of a degree above absolute zero) during operation. The surrounding layers are higher temperature stages of the cryostat. The cryostat is constructed using radiopure copper to provide a low-radioactivity environment for the extremely sensitive CDMS detectors. Larger Image

A scientist examines the shielding around the cryostat. Larger Image

The detectors arrive at the Soudan Mine on February 21, 2003. Larger Image

A collaboration meeting at Soudan in March, 2003. The 12-institution collaboration includes 45 scientists. Larger Image

The Soudan Underground Mine was closed in 1963 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It is operated as a State Park by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, with 14 tours a day taking the historic elevator for a fast and clamorous ride nearly a half-mile below the surface. After descending, hard hat-wearing tourists can view old mine caverns with some of the equipment still standing in place. Since May 2002, tourists can also view the cavern housing the CDMS detector. Larger Image

Soudan is part of Minnesota's Iron Range. Rich ore deposits were discovered in the area in 1865. Today, underground mines have largely given way to surface mining. The Soudan Underground Mine has served as a physics laboratory since 1979. The photo shows the view from the top of the tower above the Soudan Mine shaft. Larger Image

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