Demonstration of feasibility of operating a silicon ZIP detector with 20 eV threshold

100-g silicon detectors (known as “ZIPs,” Z-resolving Ionization and Phonon detectors) developed by the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Experiment have been tested at charge bias voltages of up to 200 V/cm, significantly above their usual operating range (∼3–6 V/cm). Thermal gain factors in excess of 50 were observed due to the primary ionization drifting in the large applied field, with only minimal increase in phonon noise. The observed thermal gain corresponds to an intrinsic threshold of 20 eV, resulting in detectors that have direct application for use in a neutrino magnetic moment measurement based on a 40-MCi tritium source.