The optical properties of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) heavy water
Cherenkov neutrino detector are measured in situ using a light diffusing sphere
("laserball"). This diffuser is connected to a pulsed nitrogen/dye laser via
specially developed underwater optical fibre umbilical cables. The umbilical
cables are designed to have a small bending radius, and can be easily adapted
for a variety of calibration sources in SNO. The laserball is remotely
manipulated to many positions in the D2O and H2O volumes, where data at six
different wavelengths are acquired. These data are analysed to determine the
absorption and scattering of light in the heavy water and light water, and the
angular dependence of the response of the detector's photomultiplier tubes.
This paper gives details of the physical properties, construction, and optical
characteristics of the laserball and its associated hardware.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Nucl. Inst. Meth.
