Development of Large area Gamma-ray Camera with GSO(Ce) Scintillator Arrays and PSPMTs

We have developed a position-sensitive scintillation camera with a large area absorber for use as an advanced Compton gamma-ray camera. At first we tested GSO(Ce) crystals. We compared light output from the GSO(Ce) crystals under various conditions: the method of surface polishing, the concentration of Ce, and co-doping Zr. As a result, we chose the GSO(Ce) crystals doped with only 0.5 mol% Ce, and its surface polished by chemical etching as the scintillator of our camera. We also made a 16$\times$16 cm$^2$ scintillation camera which consisted of 9 position-sensitive PMTs (PSPMTs Hamamatsu flat-panel H8500), the each of which had 8$\times$8 anodes with a pitch of 6 mm and coupled to 8$\times$8 arrays of pixelated 6$\times6\times$13 mm$^3$ GSO(Ce) scintillators. For the readout system of the 576 anodes of the PMTs, we used chained resistors to reduce the number of readout channels down to 48 to reduce power consumption. The camera has a position resolution of less than 6mm and a typical energy resolution of 10.5% (FWHM) at 662 keV at each pixel in a large area of 16$\times$16 cm$^2$. %to choose the best scintillator for our project. Furthermore we constructed a 16$\times$16 array of 3$\times3\times$13 mm$^3$ pixelated GSO(Ce) scintillators, and glued it to a PMT H8500. This camera had the position resolution of less than 3mm, over an area of 5$\times$5 cm$^2$, except for some of the edge pixels; the energy resolution was typically 13% (FWHM) at 662 keV.Comment: Proceedings of PSD7 appear in NIM

Semianalytical Approach to the PDF of SINR in HPHT and LPLT Single-Frequency Networks

(c) 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this[EN] Single-frequency networks (SFN) are widely adopted in terrestrial broadcast networks based on high-power high-tower (HPHT) deployments. The mobile broadcasting standard Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) has been enhanced in Release 14 to enable SFN operation with larger CP duration which may allow for the deployment of large area SFNs and even the combined operation between HPHT and low-power low-tower (LPLT) cellular stations. The knowledge of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) distribution over an SFN area may facilitate the selection of transmission parameters according to the network topology. This paper presents a semianalytical method for the calculation of the SINR distribution in SFNs with low computational complexity compared to Monte Carlo simulations. The method, which builds on previous work developed for cellular communications, is applied to HPHT+LPLT SFNs and evaluated against different transmission and network parameters.This work was supported in part by the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia, Spain, under Grant TEC2014-56483-R, in part by European FEDER funds.Gimenez Gandia, JJ.; Sung, KW.; Gomez-Barquero, D. (2018). Semianalytical Approach to the PDF of SINR in HPHT and LPLT Single-Frequency Networks. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology. 67(5):4173-4181. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2018.2791347S4173418167

Edge pixel response studies of edgeless silicon sensor technology for pixellated imaging detectors

Silicon sensor technologies with reduced dead area at the sensor's perimeter are under development at a number of institutes. Several fabrication methods for sensors which are sensitive close to the physical edge of the device are under investigation utilising techniques such as active-edges, passivated edges and current-terminating rings. Such technologies offer the goal of a seamlessly tiled detection surface with minimum dead space between the individual modules. In order to quantify the performance of different geometries and different bulk and implant types, characterisation of several sensors fabricated using active-edge technology were performed at the B16 beam line of the Diamond Light Source. The sensors were fabricated by VTT and bump-bonded to Timepix ROICs. They were 100 and 200 μ m thick sensors, with the last pixel-to-edge distance of either 50 or 100 μ m. The sensors were fabricated as either n-on-n or n-on-p type devices. Using 15 keV monochromatic X-rays with a beam spot of 2.5 μ m, the performance at the outer edge and corners pixels of the sensors was evaluated at three bias voltages. The results indicate a significant change in the charge collection properties between the edge and 5th (up to 275 μ m) from edge pixel for the 200 μ m thick n-on-n sensor. The edge pixel performance of the 100 μ m thick n-on-p sensors is affected only for the last two pixels (up to 110 μ m) subject to biasing conditions. Imaging characteristics of all sensor types investigated are stable over time and the non-uniformities can be minimised by flat-field corrections. The results from the synchrotron tests combined with lab measurements are presented along with an explanation of the observed effects

Collaboration Between Extension and Industry: Coordination and Assessment of Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue Training

Rescuing large animals from emergency situations can be fraught with dangers not only to the animals but also to the rescuers. People involved at the scene of such an emergency are most likely to include first responders, horse owners, and veterinarians. These groups need to be aware of how they can best work together to effect a safe and efficient rescue as none typically has all the knowledge and skills that are necessary. Extension training programs that bring together such groups can be beneficial in supporting emergency and disaster preparedness in the local community

Development of Wireless Techniques in Data and Power Transmission - Application for Particle Physics Detectors

Wireless techniques have developed extremely fast over the last decade and using them for data and power transmission in particle physics detectors is not science- fiction any more. During the last years several research groups have independently thought of making it a reality. Wireless techniques became a mature field for research and new developments might have impact on future particle physics experiments. The Instrumentation Frontier was set up as a part of the SnowMass 2013 Community Summer Study [1] to examine the instrumentation R&D for the particle physics research over the coming decades: {\guillemotleft} To succeed we need to make technical and scientific innovation a priority in the field {\guillemotright}. Wireless data transmission was identified as one of the innovations that could revolutionize the transmission of data out of the detector. Power delivery was another challenge mentioned in the same report. We propose a collaboration to identify the specific needs of different projects that might benefit from wireless techniques. The objective is to provide a common platform for research and development in order to optimize effectiveness and cost, with the aim of designing and testing wireless demonstrators for large instrumentation systems

Precision scans of the pixel cell response of double sided 3D pixel detectors to pion and x-ray beams

hree-dimensional (3D) silicon sensors offer potential advantages over standard planar sensors for radiation hardness in future high energy physics experiments and reduced charge-sharing for X-ray applications, but may introduce inefficiencies due to the columnar electrodes. These inefficiencies are probed by studying variations in response across a unit pixel cell in a 55μm pitch double-sided 3D pixel sensor bump bonded to TimePix and Medipix2 readout ASICs. Two complementary characterisation techniques are discussed: the first uses a custom built telescope and a 120GeV pion beam from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN; the second employs a novel technique to illuminate the sensor with a micro-focused synchrotron X-ray beam at the Diamond Light Source, UK. For a pion beam incident perpendicular to the sensor plane an overall pixel efficiency of 93.0±0.5% is measured. After a 10o rotation of the device the effect of the columnar region becomes negligible and the overall efficiency rises to 99.8±0.5%. The double-sided 3D sensor shows significantly reduced charge sharing to neighbouring pixels compared to the planar device. The charge sharing results obtained from the X-ray beam study of the 3D sensor are shown to agree with a simple simulation in which charge diffusion is neglected. The devices tested are found to be compatible with having a region in which no charge is collected centred on the electrode columns and of radius 7.6±0.6μm. Charge collection above and below the columnar electrodes in the double-sided 3D sensor is observed

Topological susceptibility in Lattice QCD with unimproved Wilson fermions

We address a long standing problem regarding topology in lattice simulations of QCD with unimproved Wilson fermions. Earlier attempt with unimproved Wilson fermions at \beta =5.6 to verify the suppression of topological susceptibility with decreasing quark mass (m_q) was unable to unambiguously confirm the suppression. We carry out systematic calculations for two degenerate flavours at two different lattice spacings (\beta = 5.6 and 5.8). The effects of quark mass, lattice volume and the lattice spacing on the spanning of different topological sectors are presented. We unambiguously demonstrate the suppression of the topological susceptibility with decreasing quark mass, expected from chiral Ward identity and chiral perturbation theory.Comment: 1 figure and clarifying remarks added, results and conclusion unchanged. Accepted for publication in Physics Letters