Double beta decay: calorimeters

Calorimeters or, with a more speci c de nition, low temperature detectors, have been used by now for more than 15 years in Double Beta Decay (DBD) searches, with excellent results: they compete with Ge diodes for the rank of detectors with the highest sensitivity to the e ective neutrino mass, which is de ned as a linear combination of the neutrino mass eigenvalues. After a brief introduction to the argument, with some notes on DBD and on bolometers, an update on the now closed experiment CUORICINO and on its successor, CUORE, is given. The fundamental role of background is then revealed and commented, introducing in this way the importance of the speci c experiment now under construction, CUORE-0, that will precede CUORE to help optimizing the struggle against surface background. The possible future of this technique is then commented, quoting important R&D studies that are going on, for active shielding bolometers and for scintillating bolometers coupled with light detecting bolometers.