Simulation of Heat Propagation Processes in the Detection Pixel with Superconducting Layers of Single-Photon Thermoelectric Detector

The results of computer simulation of heat propagation processes in the three-layer detection pixel with the superconducting layers of thermoelectric detector after the absorption of single photons energy of 1–1000 eV are presented. We consider the different geometries of the detection pixel consisting of CeB 6 or (La,Ce)B 6 thermoelectric sensor, absorber and heat sink of Nb, Pb or YBCO superconductors. The computations based on the heat conduction equation from the limited volume are carried out by the three-dimensional matrix method for differential equations. It is shown that by changing the materials and dimension of the detection pixel elements, as well as the operating temperature of the detector enables one to obtain the detector to register the photons within the given spectral range, required energy resolution, and counting rate. Such a detector has a number of advantages that allow one to consider the thermoelectric detector as a real alternative to the most promising single photon detectors.