We have constructed and tested a 2d position sensitive parallel-plate gas ionization chamber with scanned charge transfer readout. The scan readout method described here is based on the development of a new position dependent charge transfer technique. It has been implemented by using gate strips perpendicularly oriented to the collector strips. This solution reduces considerably the number of electronic readout channels needed to cover large detector areas. The use of a 25 micron thick kapton etched circuit allows high charge transfer efficiency with a low gating voltage, consequently needing a very simple commutating circuit. The present prototype covers 8 x 8 cm^2 with a pixel size of 1.27 x 1.27 mm^2. Depending on the intended use and beam characteristics a smaller effective pixel is feasible and larger active areas are possible. This detector can be used for X-ray or other continuous beam intensity profile monitoring.
A micro time-projection-chamber (micro-TPC) with a detection volume of 23*28*31 cm^3 was developed, and its fundamental performance was examined. The micro-TPC consists of a micro pixel chamber with a detection area of 31*31 cm^2 as a two-dimensional imaging device and a gas electron multiplier with an effective area of 23*28 cm^2 as a pre-gas-multiplier. The micro-TPC was operated at a gas gain of 50,000, and energy resolutions and spatial resolutions were measured.
Low radioactive material screening is becoming essential for rare event search experiments, such as neutrinoless double beta decay and dark matter searches in underground laboratories. A gaseous time projection chamber (TPC) can be used for such purposes with large active areas and high efficiency. A gaseous TPC with a Micromegas readout plane of approximately 20$\times$20 cm$^2$ is successfully constructed for surface alpha contamination measurements. We have characterized the energy resolution, gain stability, and tracking capability with calibration sources. With the unique track-related ba…
We report about a nuclear track imaging system which is designed to study in detail the ionization topology of charged particle tracks in a low-pressure gas. The detection method is based on a time projection chamber (TPC) filled with low-pressure triethylamine (TEA). Ionization electrons produced by energetic charged particles are three-dimensionally imaged by recording light from electron avalanches with an intensified CCD system. The detector permits to inves-tigate the spatial ionization distributions of particle tracks in gas, of equivalent length and resolution in tissue of 4 mm and 40 n…
We have previously reported on the construction and successful operation of the novel double phase Liquid Argon Large Electron Multiplier Time Projection Chamber (LAr LEM-TPC). This detector concept provides a 3D-tracking and calorimetric device capable of adjustable charge amplification, a promising readout technology for next-generation neutrino detectors and direct Dark Matter searches. In this paper, we report on the first operation of a LAr LEM-TPC prototype - with an active area of 10$\times$10 cm$^2$ and 21 cm drift length - equipped with a single 1 mm thick LEM amplifying stage and a t…
The ALICE Collaboration is planning a major upgrade of its central barrel detectors to be able to cope with the increased LHC luminosity beyond 2020. In order to record at an increased interaction rate of up to 50$\,$kHz in Pb$-$Pb collisions, the TPC will be operated in an ungated mode with continuous readout. This demands for a replacement of the currently employed gated Multi-Wire Proportional Chambers by GEM-based (Gas Electron Multiplier) readout chambers, while retaining the performance in particular in terms of particle identification capabilities via the measurement of the specific ene…
Integration and characterization of Readout Electronics System for dN/dx Measurement with Drift Chamber Prototype
Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院高能物理研究所）；Spallation Neutron Source Science Center（散裂中子源科学中心）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）
The ALICE Collaboration is planning a major upgrade of its central barrel detectors to be able to cope with the increased LHC luminosity beyond 2020. For the TPC, this implies a replacement of the currently used gated MWPCs (Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber) by GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) based readout chambers. In order to prove, that the present particle identification capabilities via measurement of the specific energy loss are retained after the upgrade, a prototype of the ALICE IROC (Inner Readout Chamber) has been evaluated in a test beam campaign at the CERN PS. The d$E$/d$x$ resolutio…
Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) have been selected for the future long-baseline Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). To allow LArTPCs to operate in the high-multiplicity near detector environment of DUNE, a new charge readout technology is required. Traditional charge readout technologies introduce intrinsic ambiguities, combined with a slow detector response, these ambiguities have limited the performance of LArTPCs, until now. Here, we present a novel pixelated charge readout that enables the full 3D tracking capabilities of LArTPCs. We characterise the signal to nois…
We present the design and performance of a prototype ASIC digitizer for integrated wire chamber readout, implemented in 65 nm commercial CMOS technology. Each channel of the 4-channel prototype is composed of two 16-bit Time-to-Digital Converters (TDCs), one 8-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), a front-end preamplifier and shaper, plus digital and analog buffers that support a variety of digitization chains. The prototype has a multiplexed digital backend that executes a state machine, distributes control and timing signals, and buffers data for serial output. Laboratory bench tests measur…
As part of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment Phase-II upgrade program, new Resistive Plate Chambers will be installed in the forward region. High background conditions are expected in this region during the high-luminosity phase of the Large Hadron Collider, therefore an improved RPC design has been proposed with a new front-end electronics to sustain a higher rate capability and better time resolution. A new technology is used in the front-end electronics resulting in very low achievable thresholds of the order of several fC. Crucial in the design of the improved RPC is the capability of a…
In this paper we explore the potential improvements in neutrino event reconstruction that a 3D pixelated readout could offer over a 2D projective wire readout for liquid argon time projection chambers. We simulate and study events in two generic, idealized detector configurations for these two designs, classifying events in each sample with deep convolutional neural networks to compare the best 2D results to the best 3D results. In almost all cases we find that the 3D readout provides better reconstruction efficiency and purity than the 2D projective wire readout, with the advantages of 3D bei…
In this paper, the design and the performance of a prototype detector based on MicroMegas technology with two detection planes in a common gas volume is discussed. The detector is suited for the forward region of LHC detectors, addressing the high-rate environment and limited available space. Each detection plane has an active area of 9x9 cm^2 with a two-dimensional strip readout and is separated by a common gas region with a height of 14 mm. A micro-mesh, working as a cathode, is placed in the middle of the common gas volume separating it into two individual cells. This setup allows for an an…
The conventional readout method of the RPC detector uses two sets of orthogonal readout strips placed at the both sides of the gas gap to collect signals of opposite polarities to obtain space points. A new readout method utilizing the reflected signals is proposed which only requires one set of readout strips. The reflection readout method utilizes the differences in the arrival time of the direct and reflected signals to determine the hit position. Customized transmission cables are introduced to extend the propagation distance of reflected signals to ensure sufficient separation of the two …
Small-diameter Drift Tube (sMDT) detectors with 15 mm tube diameter have proven to be excellent candidates for precision muon tracking detectors in experiments at future hadron colliders like HL-LHC and FCC-hh where unprecedentedly high background rate capabilities are required. sMDT chambers are currently being installed in the inner barrel layer of the ATLAS muon spectrometer. The rate capability of the sMDT drift tubes in terms of muon detection efficiency and spatial resolution is limited by the performance of the readout electronics. A new (s)MDT ASD (Amplifier-Shaper-Discriminator) reado…
We report the demonstration of a low-power pixelated readout system designed for three-dimensional ionization charge detection and digital readout of liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Unambiguous 3D charge readout was achieved using a custom-designed system-on-a-chip ASIC (LArPix) to uniquely instrument each pad in a pixelated array of charge-collection pads. The LArPix ASIC, manufactured in 180 nm bulk CMOS, provides 32 channels of charge-sensitive amplification with self-triggered digitization and multiplexed readout at temperatures from 80 K to 300 K. Using an 832-channel LAr…
This work reports a cost-effective, multi-parameter readout and data-acquisition system for a muon scattering tomography system based on Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). Initial test measurements with a prototype Resistive Plate Chamber were performed using a low-cost FPGA coupled to the NINO ASIC for the event selection and handling data. The Time over-Threshold (TOT) property of NINO ASICs has been used to achieve better position information and achieve precise tracking capability. In our test setup, we try to build an imaging setup using a single RPC and lead block, which covers some areas …
A time projection chamber (TPC) with micropattern gaseous detector (MPGD) readout is investigated as main tracking device of the International Large Detector (ILD) concept at the planned International Linear Collider (ILC). A prototype TPC equipped with a triple gas electron multiplier (GEM) readout has been built and operated in an electron test beam. The TPC was placed in a 1 T solenoidal field at the DESY II Test Beam Facility, which provides an electron beam up to 6 GeV/c. The performance of the readout modules, in particular the spatial point resolution, is determined and compared to earl…
Time projection chambers (TPCs) have found a wide range of applications in particle physics, nuclear physics, and homeland security. For TPCs with high-resolution readout, the readout electronics often dominate the price of the final detector. We have developed a novel method which could be used to build large-scale detectors while limiting the necessary readout area. By focusing the drift charge with static electric fields, we would allow a small area of electronics to be sensitive to particle detection for a much larger detector volume. The resulting cost reduction could be important in area…
The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) Time Projection Chamber (TPC) at CERN LHC is presently equipped with Multi Wire Proportional Chambers (MWPCs). A gating grid prevents ions produced during the gas amplification from moving into the drift volume. The maximum drift time of the electrons together with the closure time of the gating grid allows a maximum readout rate of about 3 kHz. After the Long Shutdown 2 (from 2021 onwards), the LHC will provide lead-lead collisions at an expected interaction rate of 50 kHz. To take data at this rate the TPC will be upgraded with new readout chambers…
We develop a novel approach for a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) concept suitable for deployment in kilotonne scale detectors, with a charge-readout system free from reconstruction ambiguities, and a robust TPC design that reduces high-voltage risks while increasing the coverage of the light collection system. This novel concept could be deployed as a Far Detector module in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) neutrino-oscillation experiment. For the charge-readout system, we use the charge-collection pixels and associated application-specific integrated circuits currently being deve…
An extension of the traditional modulation transfer function (MTF), the detective MTF, is proposed for the evaluation of the resolution of X-ray imaging detectors with non-uniform efficiency on the scale of individual detector elements. The dMTF is shown to give a better representation than does the MTF of the improved resolution reported when the readout of the detectors is enhanced.
A large Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main device for tracking and charged-particle identification in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. After the second long shutdown in 2019-2020, the LHC will deliver Pb beams colliding at an interaction rate up to 50 kHz, which is about a factor of 100 above the present read-out rate of the TPC. To fully exploit the LHC potential the TPC will be upgraded based on the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology. A prototype of an ALICE TPC Outer Read-Out Chamber (OROC) was equipped with twelve large-size GEM foils as amplification stage to demonstrate…
ALICE, one of the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (CERN), is undergoing ambitious upgrades during the ongoing second long shutdown (LS2). The main goal of this project is to access rare events and previously inaccessible physics observables. The increased Pb-Pb and pp collision rates need a correspondingly higher TPC operation rate in the next Run 3 of the LHC. The operational gated MWPC readout used so far cannot be used at such fast rates. Therefore a new readout chamber is needed with a novel technology and without any compromise on the momentum and energy resolution. As a solution…
Prototypes of MICROMEGAS chambers, using bulk technology and analog readout, with 1x1cm2 readout segmentation have been built and tested. Measurements in Ar/iC4H10 (95/5) and Ar/CO2 (80/20) are reported. The dependency of the prototypes gas gain versus pressure, gas temperature and amplification gap thickness variations has been measured with an 55Fe source and a method for temperature and pressure correction of data is presented. A stack of four chambers has been tested in 200GeV/c and 7GeV/c muon and pion beams respectively. Measurements of response uniformity, detection efficiency and hit m…
Measurements of proton-nucleus scattering and high resolution neutrino-nucleus interaction imaging are key to reduce neutrino oscillation systematic uncertainties in future experiments. A High Pressure Time Projection Chamber (HPTPC) prototype has been constructed and operated at Royal Holloway University of London and CERN as a first step in the development of a HPTPC capable of performing these measurements as part of a future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. In this paper we describe the design and operation of the prototype HPT…
Calorimetry at future linear colliders could be based on a particle flow approach where granularity is the key to high jet energy resolution. Among different technologies, Micromegas chambers with 1 cm2 pad segmentation are studied for the active medium of a hadronic calorimeter. A chamber of 1 m2 with 9216 channels read out by a low noise front-end ASIC called MICROROC has recently been constructed and tested. Chamber design, ASIC circuitry and preliminary test beam results are reported.
The DHCAL, the Digital Hadron Calorimeter, is a prototype calorimeter based on Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). The design emphasizes the imaging capabilities of the detector in an effort to optimize the calorimeter for the application of Particle Flow Algorithms (PFAs) to the reconstruction of hadronic jet energies in a colliding beam environment. The readout of the chambers is segmented into 1 x 1 cm2 pads, each read out with a 1-bit (single threshold) resolution. The prototype with approximately 500,000 readout channels underwent extensive testing in both the Fermilab and CERN test beams. T…
An integrated readout system for parallel-plate avalanche counter and multi-wire drift chamber at HIAF-HIRIBL
Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院近代物理研究所）；School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学核科学与技术学院）
For the International Large Detector concept at the planned International Linear Collider, the use of time projection chambers (TPC) with micro-pattern gas detector readout as the main tracking detector is investigated. In this paper, results from a prototype TPC, placed in a 1 T solenoidal field and read out with three independent GEM-based readout modules, are reported. The TPC was exposed to a 6 GeV electron beam at the DESY II synchrotron. The efficiency for reconstructing hits, the measurement of the drift velocity, the space point resolution and the control of field inhomogeneities are p…
After the Long Shutdown 2 the LHC will provide lead-lead collisions at interaction rates as high as 50kz. In order to cope with such conditions the ALICE Time Projection Chamber (TPC) needs to be upgraded. After the upgrade the TPC will run in a continuous mode, without any degradation of the momentum and dE/dx resolution compared to the performance of the present TPC. Since readout by multi-wire proportional chambers is no longer feasible with these requirements, new technologies have to be employed. In the new readout chambers the electron amplification is provided by a stack of four Gas Ele…
Modern time projection chambers are increasingly based on micro pattern gas detector readout systems. In this paper a self-supporting method used to mount Gas Electron Multiplier foils is presented. It is based on light weight ceramic grids, and promises to cover large readout areas with minimum dead zones and material, while ensuring a flat and mechanically stable mounting. The structure has been tested in a Time Projection Chamber prototype, using cosmic muon tracks. The impact of the mounting structure on the charge measurement, the track reconstruction and the single point resolution is qu…
We report the results of the analyses of the cosmic ray data collected with a 4 tonne (3$\times$1$\times$1~m$^3$) active mass (volume) Liquid Argon Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) operated in a dual-phase mode. We present a detailed study of the TPC's response, its main detector parameters and performance. The results are important for the understanding and further developments of the dual-phase technology, thanks to the verification of key aspects, such as the extraction of electrons from liquid to gas and their amplification through the entire one square metre readout plain, gain stability, pu…
The ALICE experiment will run with continuous readout at interaction rates of up to 50 kHz in Pb-Pb collisions during Run 3 of the LHC. In order to achieve this goal, a new data processing scheme and software are developed. This scheme strongly relies on GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit) for fast online and offline calibration and reconstruction as well as on efficient data compression. On the hardware side, the Time Projection Chamber (TPC), among other detector systems, received major upgrades to its readout chambers and readout electronics. The multiwire proportional chambers were replaced by…
A hybrid readout Time Projection Chamber (TPC) has a simultaneous optical- and charge readout. The optical readout provides 2D images of particle tracks in the active volume, whilst the charge readout provides additional information on the particle position perpendicular to the image plane. A hybrid readout TPC working at high pressure is an attractive device for physics cases where an excellent space point resolution and a high target density is required as e.g. measuring a neutrino beam at the source of a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. In this paper we present two different l…
Liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) have been proposed as neutrino detectors that combine both large sizes to maximize the number of neutrino interactions and detailed recording of the interaction. The readout of thousands of channels at MHz sampling rates produce images of the neutrino-nucleus interaction with millimeter-scale resolution, enabling the identification of the resulting particles and offering multiple handles to measure their energies at the expense of large data rates. Continuous acquisition of the LArTPC data is required to enable the use of high-latency triggers fo…
The ALICE experiment at CERN is undergoing a major upgrade during the Long Shutdown 2 (LS2) of the LHC during 2019-2020. The key elements regarding the central barrel are the installation of a new Inner Tracking System (ITS) and the upgrade of the large Time Projection Chamber (TPC). The TPC is currently being upgraded with a new readout system, including new GEM-based Readout Chambers and new front-end electronics enabling us to operate it in continuous mode. The new ITS based on CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors will significantly improve the impact parameter resolution and the tracking e…
A large Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main device for tracking and charged-particle identification in the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC. After the second long shutdown in 2019-2020, the LHC will deliver Pb beams colliding at an interaction rate of up to 50 kHz, which is about a factor of 50 above the present readout rate of the TPC. To fully exploit the LHC potential, the TPC readout chambers will be upgraded with Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology. To assure stable behaviour of the upgraded chambers in the harsh LHC environment, a dedicated R&D programme was launched in order …
We report the design, construction, and initial commissioning results of a large high pressure gaseous Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with Micromegas modules for charge readout. The detector vessel has an inner volume of about 600 L and an active volume of 270 L. At 10 bar operating pressure, the active volume contains about 20 kg of xenon gas and can image charged particle tracks. Drift electrons are collected by the charge readout plane, which accommodates a tessellation of seven Micromegas modules. Each of the Micromegas covers a square of 20 cm by 20 cm. A new type of Microbulk Micromegas i…
A Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is a powerful detector for 3-dimensional tracking and particle identification for ultra-high multiplicity events. It is the central tracking device of many experiments, e.g. the ALICE experiment at CERN. The necessity of a switching electrostatic gate, which prevents ions produced in the amplification region o MWPCs from entering the drift volume, however, restricts its application to trigger rates of the order of 1 kHz. Charge amplification by Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) foils instead of proportional wires offers an intrinsic suppression of the ion backflow, …
In this paper we describe how the readout planes for the MicroBooNE Time Projection Chamber were constructed, assembled and installed. We present the individual wire preparation using semi-automatic winding machines and the assembly of wire carrier boards. The details of the wire installation on the detector frame and the tensioning of the wires are given. A strict quality assurance plan ensured the integrity of the readout planes. The different tests performed at all stages of construction and installation provided crucial information to achieve the successful realisation of the MicroBooNE wi…
The aim of the CYGNO project is the construction and operation of a 1~m$^3$ gas TPC for directional dark matter searches and coherent neutrino scattering measurements, as a prototype toward the 100-1000~m$^3$ (0.15-1.5 tons) CYGNUS network of underground experiments. In such a TPC, electrons produced by dark-matter- or neutrino-induced nuclear recoils will drift toward and will be multiplied by a three-layer GEM structure, and the light produced in the avalanche processes will be readout by a sCMOS camera, providing a 2D image of the event with a resolution of a few hundred micrometers. Photom…
The 4th detector is rich in particle identification measurements from the dual-readout calorimeters, the cluster-timing tracking chamber, the muon spectrometer, and combinations of these systems. In all, a total of 13 measurements contribute to the identification of all partons of the standard model.
We describe the construction and calibration of a multi-channel liquid time projection chamber filled with Tetramethylsilane (TMS). Its charge readout system consists of 8 wires each in the $X$ and $Y$ directions. The chamber is also equipped with a Cherenkov light readout system consisting of a 5-inch photomultiplier tube (PMT) coupled to the liquid volume through a viewport. The energy scale of the detector is calibrated using positron-electron pairs produced by 4.4 MeV gamma rays emitted from an AmBe source, using an external trigger on the positron annihilation gammas. The external trigger…
Development of readout electronics for Time Projection Chamber for a Linear Collider is ongoing under stringent requirements on high channel density, lowest possible power consumption and small material budget. In the studied TPC readout electronics time and charge of TPC signals are measured with the help of Time-to-Digit Converters. Optimization of performance of this electronics is considered and a methodology of signal simulation is presented.
The Phase-II Upgrade of the ATLAS Muon Detector requires new electronics for the readout of the MDT drift tubes. The first processing stage, the Amplifier-Shaper-Discriminator (ASD), determines the performance of the readout for crucial parameters like time resolution, gain uniformity, efficiency and noise rejection. An 8-channel ASD chip, using the IBM 130 nm CMOS 8RF-DM technology, has been designed, produced and tested. The area of the chip is 2.2 x 2.9 square mm size. We present results of detailed measurements as well as a comparision with simulation results of the chip behaviour at three…
We report on studies of fast triggering and high-precision tracking using Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). Two beam tests were carried out with the 180 GeV muon beam at CERN using RPCs with gas gaps of 1.00 or 1.15 mm and equipped with readout strips with 1.27 mm pitch. This is the first beam test of RPCs with fine-pitch readout strips that explores simultaneously precision tracking and triggering capabilities. RPC signals were acquired with precision timing and charge integrating readout electronics at both ends of the strips. The time resolution was measured to be better than 600 ps and the …
The India based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is a mega science project of India, which is going to use near about 30, 000 Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) as active detector elements for the study of atmospheric neutrino oscillations. Each RPC detector will consist of two orthogonally placed readout strips panel for picking the signals generated in the gas chamber. The area of RPC detector in INO-ICAL (Iron Calorimeter) experiment will be 2m x 2m, therefore the dimension of readout strips panel will also be of 2m x 2m. To get undistorted signals pass through the readout strips panel to frontend el…
The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is dedicated to heavy ion physics to explore the structure of strongly interacting matter. The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) of ALICE is a tracking detector located in the central region of the experiment. It offers excellent tracking capabilities as well as particle identification. After the second long shutdown (LS2) the LHC will run at substantially higher luminosities. To be able to increase the data acquisition rate by a factor of 100, the ALICE TPC experiment has to replace the Multi-Wire Pr…
A large volume Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is being considered for the central charged particle tracker for the detector for the proposed International Linear Collider (ILC). To meet the ILC-TPC spatial resolution challenge of ~100 microns with a manageable number of readout pads and channels of electronics, Micro Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGD) are being developed which could use pads comparable in width to the proportional-wire/cathode-pad TPC. We have built a prototype GEM readout TPC with 2 mm x 6 mm pads using the new concept of charge dispersion in MPGDs with a resistive anode. The depend…
The detection of neutrinos from core-collapse supernovae may reveal important process features as well as neutrino properties. The detection of supernova neutrinos is one of the main science drivers for future kiloton-scale neutrino detectors based on liquid argon. Here we show that for such detectors the intrinsically 3D readout in Q-Pix offers numerous advantages relative to a wire-based readout, such as higher reconstruction efficiency, lower energy threshold, considerably lower data rates, and potential pointing information.
