A. Ferrero

Development of THGEM-based photon detectors for Cherenkov Imaging Counters

The development of a large size gaseous detector of single photons, able to stably operate at high gain and high rate, and to provide good time resolution and insensitivity to magnetic field would be beneficial to future Cherenkov Imaging Counters. The detector could be based on the use of a multilayer architecture of THGEM electron multipliers coupled to a solid state CsI photocathode. A systematic study of the response of THGEM-based counters versus the geometrical parameters has been performed and the main results will be presented. Small photon detector prototypes have been built and preliminary data obtained detecting single photoelectrons are presented as well. The key aspect of photoelectron extraction from the photocathode is illustrated presenting both simulation and dedicated measurement results.

Micropattern gaseous photon detectors for Cherenkov imaging counters

RICH counters for PID in the high momentum domain and in large acceptance experiments require photon detectors covering extended surface of several square meters and able to accept Cherenkov photons in a wide angular range. An ideal approach is represented by gaseous photon detectors, which allow covering wide surfaces at affordable costs.

Fast photon detection for particle identification with COMPASS RICH-1

Particle identification at high rates is an important challenge for many current and future high-energy physics experiments. The upgrade of the COMPASS RICH-1 detector requires a new technique for Cherenkov photon detection at count rates of several

Pattern recognition and PID for COMPASS RICH-1

10^6

The fast readout system for the MAPMTs of COMPASS RICH-1

per channel in the central detector region, and a read-out system allowing for trigger rates of up to 100 kHz. To cope with these requirements, the photon detectors in the central region have been replaced with the detection system described in this paper. In the peripheral regions, the existing multi-wire proportional chambers with CsI photocathode are now read out via a new system employing APV pre-amplifiers and flash ADC chips. The new detection system consists of multi-anode photomultiplier tubes (MAPMT) and fast read-out electronics based on the MAD4 discriminator and the F1-TDC chip. The RICH-1 is in operation in its upgraded version for the 2006 CERN SPS run. We present the photon detection design, constructive aspects and the first Cherenkov light in the detector.

Self-shunted streamer chamber spectrometer with CCD video cameras for studying pion interactions with light nuclei at energies below the Δ-resonance

Abstract A package for pattern recognition and PID by COMPASS RICH-1 has been developed and used for the analysis of COMPASS data collected in the years 2002–2004, and 2006–2007 with the upgraded RICH-1 photon detectors. It has allowed the full characterization of the detector in the starting version and in the upgraded one as well as the PID for physics results. We report about the package structure and algorithms, and the detector characterization and PID results.

Fast photon detection for the COMPASS RICH detector

A fast readout system for the upgrade of the COMPASS RICH detector has been developed and successfully used for data taking in 2006 and 2007. The new readout system for the multi-anode PMTs in the central part of the photon detector of the RICH is based on the high-sensitivity MAD4 preamplifier-discriminator and the dead-time free F1-TDC chip characterized by high-resolution. The readout electronics has been designed taking into account the high photon flux in the central part of the detector and the requirement to run at high trigger rates of up to 100 kHz with negligible dead-time. The system is designed as a very compact setup and is mounted directly behind the multi-anode photomultipliers. The data are digitized on the front-end boards and transferred via optical links to the readout system. The readout electronics system is described in detail together with its measured performances.

A highly integrated low-cost readout system for the COMPASS RICH-1 detector

A description is presented of the detector system (a self-shunted streamer chamber in a magnetic field, equipped with two CCD video cameras) developed by the DUBTO collaboration for studying pion interactions with light nuclei at the JINR phasotron.

Design and performances of fast front-end electronics for COMPASS MWPCs

Particle identification at high rates is a central aspect of many present and future experiments in high-energy particle physics. The COMPASS experiment at the SPS accelerator at CERN uses a large scale Ring Imaging CHerenkov detector (RICH) to identify pions, kaons and protons in a wide momentum range. For the data taking in 2006, the COMPASS RICH has been upgraded in the central photon detection area (25% of the surface) with a new technology to detect Cherenkov photons at very high count rates of several 10 6 s −1 per channel and a new dead-time free read-out system, which allows trigger rates up to 100 kHz. The Cherenkov photons are detected by an array of 576 visible and ultra-violet sensitive multi-anode photomultipliers with 16 channels each. Lens telescopes of fused silica lenses have been designed and built to focus the Cherenkov photons onto the individual photomultipliers. The read-out electronics of the PMTs is based on the MAD4 amplifier-discriminator chip and the dead-time free high resolution F1-TDC. The 120 ps time resolution of the digital card guarantees negligible background from uncorrelated physical events. In the outer part of the detector, where the particle rates are lower, the present multi-wire proportional chambers (MWPC) with Cesium Iodide photo-cathodes have been upgraded with a new read-out electronic system based on the APV preamplifier and shaper ASIC with analog pipeline and sampling ADCs. The project was fully designed and implemented in the period November 2004 until May 2006. The upgraded detector showed an excellent performance during the 2006 data taking: the number of detected Cherenkov photons per ring was increased from 14 to above 60 at saturation. The time resolution was improved from about 3 microseconds to about one nanosecond which allows an excellent suppression of the background photons from uncorrelated events.

THGEM based photon detector for Cherenkov imaging applications

Particle identification at high multiplicities is a key feature of the COMPASS experiment at CERNs SPS. Hadrons up to 50 GeV/c are identified by a RICH detector with a large horizontal and vertical acceptance of plusmn250 mrad and plusmn180 mrad, respectively. The central region of the photon detector is equipped with multi-anode photomultiplier tubes, the remaining 75% of the total active area are covered by MWPCs with Csl photocathodes. In order to improve the performance of the detector at very high beam intensities, more than 62000 channels of a new analog readout system of the MWPCs, based on the APV25 chip, were developed and installed in 2006. The new system features good single photon detection efficiency due to its low noise, negligible dead time at trigger rates up to 50 kHz, and low cost. In addition, sampling of the MWPC signal allows us to measure the signal time with a resolution of about 30 ns or better. The architecture of the new readout system as well as the performance results of the RICH-1 detector in the outer region during 2006 COMPASS run will be discussed.