581 research outputs found
Performance of the Micromegas detector in the CAST experiment
The gaseous Micromegas detector designed for the CERN Axion search experiment
CAST, operated smoothly during Phase-I, which included the 2003 and 2004
running periods. It exhibited linear response in the energy range of interest
(1-10keV), good spatial sensitivity and energy resolution (15-19% FWHM at
5.9keV)as well as remarkable stability. The detector's upgrade for the 2004
run, supported by the development of advanced offline analysis tools, improved
the background rejection capability, leading to an average rate 5x10^-5
counts/sec/cm^2/keV with 94% cut efficiency. Also, the origin of the detected
background was studied with a Monte Carlo simulation, using the GEANT4 package.Comment: Prepared for PSD7: The Seventh International Conference on Position
Sensitive Detectors, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 12-16 Sep. 200
Energy resolution of alpha particles in a microbulk Micromegas detector at high pressure Argon and Xenon mixtures
The latest Micromesh Gas Amplification Structures (Micromegas) are achieving
outstanding energy resolution for low energy photons, with values as low as 11%
FWHM for the 5.9 keV line of Fe in argon/isobutane mixtures at
atmospheric pressure. At higher energies (MeV scale), these measurements are
more complicated due to the difficulty in confining the events in the chamber,
although there is no fundamental reason why resolutions of 1% FWHM or below
could not be reached. There is much motivation to demonstrate experimentally
this fact in Xe mixtures due to the possible application of Micromegas readouts
to the Double Beta Decay search of Xe, or in other experiments needing
calorimetry and topology in the same detector. In this paper, we report on
systematic measurements of energy resolution with state-of-the-art Micromegas
using a 5.5 MeV alpha source in high pressure Ar/isobutane mixtures. Values as
low as 1.8% FWHM have been obtained, with possible evidence that better
resolutions are achievable. Similar measurements in Xe, of which a preliminary
result is also shown here, are under progress.Comment: 16 pages, 19 figures, version after referees comments. Accepted for
publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods
Performances of Anode-resistive Micromegas for HL-LHC
Micromegas technology is a promising candidate to replace Atlas forward muon
chambers -tracking and trigger- for future HL-LHC upgrade of the experiment.
The increase on background and pile-up event probability requires detector
performances which are currently under studies in intensive RD activities.
We studied performances of four different resistive Micromegas detectors with
different read-out strip pitches. These chambers were tested using \sim120 GeV
momentum pions, at H6 CERN-SPS beam line in autumn 2010. For a strip pitch 500
micrometers we measure a resolution of \sim90 micrometers and a efficiency of
~98%. The track angle effect on the efficiency was also studied. Our results
show that resistive techniques induce no degradation on the efficiency or
resolution, with respect to the standard Micromegas. In some configuration the
resistive coating is able to reduce the discharge currents at least by a factor
of 100.Micromegas technology is a promising candidate to replace Atlas forward
muon chambers -tracking and trigger- for future HL-LHC upgrade of the
experiment. The increase on background and pile-up event probability requires
detector performances which are currently under studies in intensive RD
activities. We studied performances of four different resistive Micromegas
detectors with different read-out strip pitches. These chambers were tested
using \sim120 GeV momentum pions, at H6 CERN-SPS beam line in autumn 2010. For
a strip pitch 500 micrometers we measure a resolution of \sim90 micrometers and
a efficiency of \sim98%. The track angle effect on the efficiency was also
studied. Our results show that resistive techniques induce no degradation on
the efficiency or resolution, with respect to the standard Micromegas. In some
configuration the resistive coating is able to reduce the discharge currents at
least by a factor of 100.Comment: "Presented at the 2011 Hadron Collider Physics symposium (HCP-2011),
Paris, France, November 14-18 2011, 3 pages, 6 figures.
The discrimination capabilities of Micromegas detectors at low energy
The latest generation of Micromegas detectors show a good energy resolution,
spatial resolution and low threshold, which make them idoneous in low energy
applications. Two micromegas detectors have been built for dark matter
experiments: CAST, which uses a dipole magnet to convert axion into detectable
x-ray photons, and MIMAC, which aims to reconstruct the tracks of low energy
nuclear recoils in a mixture of CF4 and CHF3. These readouts have been
respectively built with the microbulk and bulk techniques, which show different
gain, electron transmission and energy resolutions. The detectors and the
operation conditions will be described in detail as well as their
discrimination capabilities for low energy photons will be discussed.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of the TIPP2011 conference
(Physics Procedia
Radiopurity of Micromegas readout planes
Micromesh Gas Amplification Structures (Micromegas) are being used in an
increasing number of Particle Physics applications since their conception
fourteen years ago. More recently, they are being used or considered as readout
of Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) in the field of Rare Event searches (dealing
with dark matter, axions or double beta decay). In these experiments, the
radiopurity of the detector components and surrounding materials is measured
and finely controlled in order to keep the experimental background as low as
possible. In the present paper, the first measurement of the radiopurity of
Micromegas planes obtained by high purity germanium spectrometry in the low
background facilities of the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) is
presented. The obtained results prove that Micromegas readouts of the microbulk
type are currently manufactured with radiopurity levels below 30 microBq/cm2
for Th and U chains and ~60 microBq/cm2 for 40K, already comparable to the
cleanest detector components of the most stringent low background experiments
at present. Taking into account that the studied readouts were manufactured
without any specific control of the radiopurity, it should be possible to
improve these levels after dedicated development.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure
Characterization of microbulk detectors in argon- and neon-based mixtures
A recent Micromegas manufacturing technique, so called Microbulk, has been
developed, improving the uniformity and stability of this kind of detectors.
Excellent energy resolutions have been obtained, reaching values as low as 11%
FWHM at 5.9 keV in Ar+5%iC4H10. This detector has other advantages like its
flexible structure, low material budget and high radio-purity. Two microbulk
detectors with gaps of 50 and 25 um have been characterized in argon- and
neon-based mixtures with ethane, isobutane and cyclohexane. The results will be
presented and discussed. The gain curves have been fitted to the Rose-Korff
gain model and dependences of the electron mean free path and the threshold
energy for ionization have been obtained. The possible relation between these
two parameters and the energy resolution will be also discussed.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of Instrumentatio
Lessons from the operation of the "Penning-Fluorescent" TPC and prospects
We have recently reported the development of a new type of high-pressure
Xenon time projection chamber operated with an ultra-low diffusion mixture and
that simultaneously displays Penning effect and fluorescence in the
near-visible region (300 nm). The concept, dubbed `Penning-Fluorescent' TPC,
allows the simultaneous reconstruction of primary charge and scintillation with
high topological and calorimetric fidelity
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