The role of additives towards increasing the SIMPLE SDD lifetime

The lifetime of a Superheated Droplet Detector (SDD) is limited by the fracture of the gel matrix, due to the growth of the bubble in time caused by Oswald ripening. There are several approaches to increasing the lifetime of a SDD by limiting the fracture phenomenon. We report, here, one of these approaches, which focuses on the gel itself. The lifetime of a SDD is increased if the fracture energy of the gel matrix is raised, leading to a better resistance to the fracture phenomenon. Several additives for the SDD gel were tested, with the results indicating the use of an agarose additive to extend the lifetime by as much as a factor 2.