Diffusion of long-lived quasiparticles over long distances

Diffusion of quasiparticles over distances up to 4 mm has been observed in various superconducting films. The quasiparticles were created by X-ray absorption in film strips with critical temperatures near 1 K and were detected in two superconducting phase transition thermometers at the ends of each strip. Position and energy of the absorbed X-rays as well as diffusion constants and lifetimes of the quasiparticles were determined. Very long lifetimes up to 9 ms allow the realization of large area phonon collector films on massive cryogenic particle detectors. Recently, with a first such detector a high efficiency of the phonon collection could be demonstrated.