Neural-network-based level-1 trigger upgrade for the SuperCDMS experiment at SNOLAB

Abstract

The extended physics program of the SuperCDMS SNOLAB dark matter search experiment aims to maximize the sensitivity to low-mass dark matter. To realize this, an upgrade of the existing level-1 trigger of the data acquisition system is proposed by making use of a recurrent neural network to be implemented on the trigger FPGA. This provides an improved amplitude estimator and signal-noise discriminator based on the combined information of filtered traces from individual detector channels. The architecture and configuration of this neural trigger are discussed in this article, and the improvements in key performance indicators such as the efficiency, resolution, and noise rate are quantified based on signal simulations and noise data. Based on the findings in this proof of concept, the trigger threshold is expected to be lowered by ∼ 22%.