Cryogenic particle detectors with superconducting phase transition thermometers

Abstract A tungsten superconducting phase transition thermometer on a 32 g sapphire crystal has given an energy resolution of 100 eV (FWHM) for 1.5 keV X-rays, increasing to 440 eV at 14 keV. A possibility to obtain similar resolution in much larger crystals by using Al films as phonon collectors is presented.