Recent Progress from the MiniCLEAN Dark Matter Experiment

The MiniCLEAN dark matter direct detection experiment is a single-phase liquid argon detector, instrumented with photomultiplier tubes to observe scintillation light from a 150kg fiducial mass. This detector design strategy emphasizes scalability to target masses of order 10 tons or more. The projected light yield is 6 photo-electrons per keV, which allows pulse shape discrimination to separate the electron background from a WIMP-induced nuclear recoil signal. MiniCLEAN is also designed for a liquid neon target which, in the event of a positive signal in argon, will enable an independent verification of backgrounds and provide a unique test of the expected A² dependence of the WIMP interaction rate. This talk will review the experimental technique and current status of MiniCLEAN.