Project: DANAE

The Institute of High Energy Physics (HEPHY) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is involved in several international Projects, all dedicated to the direct detection of dark matter. Since 2020 the DANAE Experiment – a setup basically comprising a cryostat, vacuum chamber, power tower and control electronics – joined those projects and is operated in Vienna. It employs highly sensitive and complex silicon DePFET Detectors in close cooperation with the semiconductor laboratory of the Max-Planck-Society. Those sensors are capable of resolving single electrons within the deposited signal. This enables the investigation of the scattering process of potential dark matter particles with electrons of the valence band of the sensor.

First prototype detectors are currently investigated with infrared and x-ray radiation. The results will enable a modeling of the sensor – among others essential to understand background signals – as well as a performance optimization. Finally, the potential of this technology for scientific findings will be demonstrated to set the base for an upcoming production of detectors to increase the sensitive mas of the experiment.

The purpose of a master candidate will include with customized focus:

• Operation of the measurement setup to be able to take data and subsequently analyses them with existing software
• Understanding and optionally modifying the existing analyze software (a ROOT based framework)
• Further developing of an existing model of the detector (matlab/python)

We offer:

• Hands-on work in the early stage of a rising project with a cutting-edge technology (DEPFET sensors are as well employed in Belle, X-FEL and the BepiColombo and ATHENA ESA missions)
• Training and participation in a small international team of leading experts including visits (if possible) to the semiconductor laboratory in Munich

If you have experience and interest in independently taking data, analyzing them and modelling the results, contact me at wolfgang.treberspurg(at)oeaw.ac.at