A microwave paraphoton and axion detection experiment with 300 dB electromagnetic shielding at 3 GHz

Understand

For the microwave equivalent of "light shining through the wall" (LSW) experiments, a sensitive microwave detector and very high electromagnetic shielding is required.

• The screening attenuation between the axion generating cavity and the nearby detection cavity should be greater than 300 dB, in order to improve over presently existing exclusion limits.
• To achieve these goals in practice, a "box in a box" concept was utilized for shielding the detection cavity, while a vector signal analyzer was used as a microwave receiver with a very narrow resolution bandwidth in the order of a few micro-Hz.
• This contribution will present the experimental layout and the results to date.