Development of Transition Edge Sensors for the Detection of Secondary Electrons

Secondary electrons generated when carbon ions go through the body are considered to be playing a major role in damaging the DNA of cancerous cells. To fully understand the mechanism of carbon ions, experimental and quantitative analysis on the energy and the behavior of these electrons are important. Therefore, we have started the development of TES arrays for the detection of secondary electrons. By performing simulations using Geant4, we have confirmed that the superconducting thin film of a TES is able to stop the electrons. We have also found that relatively high energy secondary electrons might have an influence on the energy spectrum of electrons having energies lower than 100 eV. We are currently fabricating a prototype 2-pixel TES array for the detection of electrons.