Speaker
Description
The quest to directly detect dark matter and unravel the nature of neutrinos has driven the development of experimental techniques with unprecedented sensitivity, placing extreme demands on detector-material-induced backgrounds. As a result, the choice of construction materials, particularly those in direct contact with the target medium, has become a critical limiting factor. Electroformed copper, thanks to its exceptional radiopurity, is the material of choice for low-background experiments. However, its limited mechanical strength and ductility restrict its application in large-scale, high-pressure, or load-bearing components.
A materials design perspective to address this challenge is proposed. The recent advances in the synthesis and design optimisation of high-strength, radiopure copper-based alloys, specifically Cu-Cr and Cu-Cr-Ti, using computational thermodynamics will be presented. By combining electrodeposition techniques with CALPHAD-based modelling, rapid predictive design of alloy compositions and thermal processing is enabled, allowing us to navigate the trade-offs between radiopurity, mechanical strength, and manufacturability. The physics impact of such materials breakthroughs will be illustrated through case studies of next-generation experiments.