Development of High Precision Timing Counter Based on Plastic Scintillator with SiPM Readout

High-time-resolution counters based on plastic scintillator with silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout have been developed for applications to high energy physics experiments for which relatively large-sized counters are required. We have studied counter sizes up to $120\times40\times5$ mm^3 with series connection of multiple SiPMs to increase the sensitive area and thus achieve better time resolution. A readout scheme with analog shaping and digital waveform analysis is optimized to achieve the highest time resolution. The timing performance is measured using electrons from a Sr-90 radioactive source, comparing different scintillators, counter dimensions, and types of near-ultraviolet sensitive SiPMs. As a result, a resolution of $\sigma =42 \pm 2$ ps at 1 MeV energy deposition is obtained for counter size $60\times 30 \times 5$ mm^3 with three SiPMs ($3\times3$ mm^2 each) at each end of the scintillator. The time resolution improves with the number of photons detected by the SiPMs. The SiPMs from Hamamatsu Photonics give the best time resolution because of their high photon detection efficiency in the near-ultraviolet region. Further improvement is possible by increasing the number of SiPMs attached to the scintillator.Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures, accepted by IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sc

The mechanical and EM simulations of the CryoAC for the ATHENA X-IFU

The design phase of the CryoAC DM for the ATHENA X-IFU has concerned numerical simulations to exploit different fabrication possibilities. The mechanical simulations have accounted for the peculiar detector structure: 4 silicon chips asymmetrically suspended by means of 4 microbridges each. A preliminary study was performed to analyze the response to acceleration spectra in the frequency domain, shocks and time domain random displacement, prior to a real vibration test campaign. EM simulations to spot unwanted magnetic fields have been conducted as well. In this work we will show the latest advance in the design of the new detectors, showing the main results coming from various simulations

Direct Search for Low Energy Nuclear Isomeric Transition of Th-229m with TES Detector

Precise knowledge of the energy and lifetime of 229mTh isomeric state has notable importance as a basis for a nuclear clock. Such a clock would be capable to extend precision on the oscillator frequency by up to four orders of magnitude compared to the presently best atomic clocks. However, the technique proposed for the clock requires that the isomeric state energy is accessible with existing laser systems. Previous measurement placed this state at 3c8 eV (150 nm), in the Vacuum Ultra Violet (VUV) range of the electromagnetic spectrum. A precise direct measurement of the energy of this state is necessary to determine whether the nuclear clock can be made using existing laser technology. We are developing a cryogenic microcalorimeter to measure the energy and lifetime of the 229mTh isomeric state directly. The experiment will use a 233U source whose alpha-decay will populate the 229mTh isomeric state with 2% probability. The subsequent decay of 229mTh will be measured by a Transition Edge Sensor (TES) with <1 eV resolution. Such a technique will allow to observe all possible types of decays of 229mTh in the range of energy from 3 to 50 eV and lifetimes >5 microseconds. The single-photon TES has sufficient resolving power combined with high efficiency in the whole energy band for this experiment. Here we present a prototype of TES based on a 200 nm thick iridium-gold (Ir/Au) film which was tested with a pulsed laser source and demonstrated 3c0.8 eV energy resolution and 5.8 \ub1 2.1 \u3bcs signal recovery time

Pixelated positron timing counter with SiPM-readout scintillator for MEG II experiment

In this paper, we introduce the positron timing counter (TC) for the MEG II experiment as an application of Silicon PhotoMultipliers (SiPM) to high-resolution timing measurement. MEG II will search for the μ → eγ decay and needs a precise measurement of the positron timing. The TC is segmented in 512 counters, composed of a scintillator plate readout by SiPMs, to obtain multiple hit positron timing simultaneously such to achieve an excellent overall timing resolution of ∼30 ps. We performed single counter R&D to optimize the choice of the SiPM manufacturer, the number of the SiPMs, and their connection. To obtain the best resolution, we decided to employ AdvanSiD SiPMs, six of which are attached at both ends connected in series. Moreover we carried out beam tests with 8-9 counters prototypes, where we proved that positron multiple hits improve the resolution according to expectation. The desgin phase of the TC is almost finished and is under construction

The trigger system for the MEG II experiment

Intending to improve the current sensitivity on decay by one order of magnitude, the MEG II experiment at Paul Scherrer Institute completed the integration phase in 2021 with all detectors successfully operated throughout the subsequent beamtime. Earlier in 2021, the WaveDAQ integrated Trigger and Data Acquisition (TDAQ) system, developed for the readout of the experiment, was completely commissioned. Receiving almost 9000 channels from the detectors, the MEG II TDAQ system is the largest WaveDAQ deployment so far, proving the scalability of the overall design, from bench-top setup through various smaller-size experiments. We will describe how MEG II trigger system reduces the muon decays at the experiment target down to a 10 Hz event rate by exploiting the signal event characteristics at the online level. The trigger system performs the calorimetric reconstruction of the photon shower and then compares the timing and direction with positron candidates within a 600 ns hard latency time. The first release of the online reconstruction, deployed in 2021, achieved a photon energy resolution at the signal energy of and a coincidence time resolution among the child particles

HOLMES: The electron capture decay of 163Ho to measure the electron neutrino mass with sub-eV sensitivity

The European Research Council has recently funded HOLMES, a new experiment to directly measure the neutrino mass. HOLMES will perform a calorimetric measurement of the energy released in the decay of 163Ho. The calorimetric measurement eliminates systematic uncertainties arising from the use of external beta sources, as in experiments with beta spectrometers. This measurement was proposed in 1982 by A. De Rujula and M. Lusignoli, but only recently the detector technological progress allowed to design a sensitive experiment. HOLMES will deploy a large array of low temperature microcalorimeters with implanted 163Ho nuclei. The resulting mass sensitivity will be as low as 0.4 eV. HOLMES will be an important step forward in the direct neutrino mass measurement with a calorimetric approach as an alternative to spectrometry. It will also establish the potential of this approach to extend the sensitivity down to 0.1 eV. We outline here the project with its technical challenges and perspectives.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure

The search for \ub5+ \u2192 e+\u3b3 with 10 1214 sensitivity: The upgrade of the meg experiment

The MEG experiment took data at the Paul Scherrer Institute in the years 2009\u20132013 to test the violation of the lepton flavor conservation law, which originates from an accidental symmetry that the Standard Model of elementary particle physics has, and published the most stringent limit on the charged lepton flavor violating decay \ub5+ \u2192 e+\u3b3: BR(\ub5+ \u2192 e+\u3b3) < 4.2 7 10 1213 at 90% confidence level. The MEG detector has been upgraded in order to reach a sensitivity of 6 7 10 1214 . The basic principle of MEG II is to achieve the highest possible sensitivity using the full muon beam intensity at the Paul Scherrer Institute (7 7 107 muons/s) with an upgraded detector. The main improvements are better rate capability of all sub-detectors and improved resolutions while keeping the same detector concept. In this paper, we present the current status of the preparation, integration and commissioning of the MEG II detector in the recent engineering runs