We are going to discuss the R&D and the prospects for the CYGNO project, towards the development of an innovative, high precision 3D tracking Time Projection Chamber with optical readout using He:CF4 gas at 1 bar. CYGNO uses a stack of triple thin GEMs for charge multiplication, this induces scintillation in CF4 gas, which is readout by PMTs and sCMOS cameras. High granularity and low readout noise of sCMOS along with high sampling of PMT allows CYGNO to have 3D tracking with head tail capability and particle identification down to O(keV) energy for directional Dark Matter searches and solar neutrino spectroscopy. We will present the most recent R&D results from the CYGNO project, and in particular the overground commissioning of the largest prototype developed so far, LIME with a 33×33 cm2 readout plane and 50 cm of drift length, for a total of 50 litres active volume. We will illustrate the LIME response characterisation between 3.7 keV and 44 keV by means of multiple X-ray sources, and the data Monte-Carlo comparison of simulated sCMOS images in this energy range. Furthermore, we will present current LIME installation, operation and data taking at underground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), serving as demonstrator for the development of a 0.4 m3 CYGNO detector. We will conclude by mentioning the technical choices and the prospects of the 0.4 m3 detector, as laid out in the Technical Design Report (TDR) recently produced by our collaboration

Amaro, F.D.

Antonietti, R.

Baracchini, E.

Benussi, L.

Bianco, S.

Borra, F.

Capoccia, C.

Caponero, M.

Cardoso, D.S.

Cavoto, G.

Costa, I.A.

D'Imperio, G.

da Silva Lopes Júnior, A.

Dané, E.

Dho, G.

Di Giambattista, F.

Di Marco, E.

dos Santos, J.M.F.

Iacoangeli, F.

Kemp, E.

Lima Junior, H.P.

Lopes, G.S.P.

Maccarrone, G.

Mano, R.D.P.

Marcelo Gregorio, R.R.

Marques, D.J.G.

Mazzitelli, G.

McLean, A.G.

Meloni, P.

Messina, A.

Monteiro, C.M.B.

Nobrega, R.A.

Pains, I.F.

Paoletti, E.

Passamonti, L.

Pelosi, S.

Petrucci, F.

Piacentini, S.

Piccolo, D.

Pierluigi, D.

Pinci, D.

Prajapati, A.

Renga, F.

Roque, R.J.D.C.

Rosatelli, F.

Russo, A.

Saviano, G.

Spooner, N.J.C.

Tesauro, R.

Tomassini, S.

Torelli, S.

Tozzi, D.

White Rose Research Online

The CYGNO experiment: a directional Dark Matter detector with optical readout

We are going to discuss the R&amp;D and the prospects for the CYGNO project, towards
the development of an innovative, high precision 3D tracking Time Projection Chamber with
optical readout using He:CF4 gas at 1 bar. CYGNO uses a stack of triple thin GEMs for charge
multiplication, this induces scintillation in CF4 gas, which is readout by PMTs and sCMOS cameras.
High granularity and low readout noise of sCMOS along with high sampling of PMT allows CYGNO
to have 3D tracking with head tail capability and particle identification down to O(keV) energy for
directional Dark Matter searches and solar neutrino spectroscopy. We will present the most recent
R&amp;D results from the CYGNO project, and in particular the overground commissioning of the
largest prototype developed so far, LIME with a 33×33 cm2 readout plane and 50 cm of drift length,
for a total of 50 litres active volume. We will illustrate the LIME response characterisation between
3.7 keV and 44 keV by means of multiple X-ray sources, and the data Monte-Carlo comparison
of simulated sCMOS images in this energy range. Furthermore, we will present current LIME
installation, operation and data taking at underground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS),
serving as demonstrator for the development of a 0.4 m3 CYGNO detector. We will conclude by
mentioning the technical choices and the prospects of the 0.4 m3 detector, as laid out in the Technical
Design Report (TDR) recently produced by our collaboration

Amaro, F. D.

Cardoso, D. S.

Costa, I. A.

Dané, E.

Lima Junior, H. P.

Lopes, G. S. P.

Mano, R. D. P.

Marcelo Gregorio, R. R.

Marques, D. J. G.

McLean, A. G.

Monteiro, C. M. B.

Nobrega, R. A.

Pains, I. F.

Roque, R. J. d. C.

Spooner, N. J. C.

dos Santos, J. M. F.

da Silva Lopes Júnior, A.

Archivio della ricerca- Università di Roma La Sapienza

Journal of Instrumentation     PAPER • OPEN ACCESSThe CYGNO experiment: a directional Dark Matter detector with opticalreadoutTo cite this article: F.D. Amaro et al 2023 JINST 18 C09010 View the article online for updates and enhancements.This content was downloaded from IP address 78.192.177.20 on 20/09/2023 at 09:382023 JINST 18 C09010Published by IOP Publishing for Sissa MedialabReceived: March 31, 2023Accepted: August 22, 2023Published: September 15, 20237th International Conference on Micro Pattern Gaseous DetectorsRehovot, Israel11–16 December 2022The CYGNO experiment: a directional Dark Matterdetector with optical readoutThe CYGNO collaborationF.D. Amaro,𝑎 R. Antonietti,𝑏,𝑐 E. Baracchini,𝑑,𝑒 L. Benussi, 𝑓 S. Bianco, 𝑓 F. Borra,𝑖, 𝑗C. Capoccia, 𝑓 M. Caponero, 𝑓 ,𝑔 D.S. Cardoso,ℎ G. Cavoto,𝑖, 𝑗 I.A. Costa,𝑏,𝑐 G. D’Imperio, 𝑗E. Dané, 𝑓 G. Dho,𝑑,𝑒 F. Di Giambattista,𝑑,𝑒 E. Di Marco, 𝑗 F. Iacoangeli, 𝑗 E. Kemp,𝑘H.P. Lima Junior,ℎ G.S.P. Lopes,𝑙 G. Maccarrone, 𝑓 R.D.P. Mano,𝑎 R.R. Marcelo Gregorio,𝑚D.J.G. Marques,𝑑,𝑒 G. Mazzitelli, 𝑓 A.G. McLean,𝑚 P. Meloni,𝑏,𝑐 A. Messina,𝑖, 𝑗C.M.B. Monteiro,𝑎 R.A. Nobrega,𝑙 I.F. Pains,𝑙 E. Paoletti, 𝑓 L. Passamonti, 𝑓 S. Pelosi, 𝑗F. Petrucci,𝑏,𝑐,∗ S. Piacentini,𝑖, 𝑗 D. Piccolo, 𝑓 D. Pierluigi, 𝑓 D. Pinci, 𝑗 A. Prajapati,𝑑,𝑒F. Renga, 𝑗 R.J.d.C. Roque,𝑎 F. Rosatelli, 𝑓 A. Russo, 𝑓 G. Saviano, 𝑓 ,𝑛 N.J.C. Spooner,𝑚R. Tesauro, 𝑓 S. Tomassini, 𝑓 S. Torelli,𝑑,𝑒 D. Tozzi,𝑖, 𝑗 J.M.F. dos Santos𝑎and A. da Silva Lopes Júnior𝑙𝑎LIBPhys, Department of Physics, University of Coimbra, 3004-516 Coimbra, Portugal𝑏Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università Roma TRE, 00146, Roma, Italy𝑐Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma Tre, 00146, Roma, Italy𝑑Gran Sasso Science Institute, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy𝑒Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, 67100, Assergi, Italy𝑓 Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, 00044, Frascati, Italy𝑔ENEA Centro Ricerche Frascati, 00044, Frascati, ItalyℎCentro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rio de Janeiro 22290-180, RJ, Brazil𝑖Dipartimento di Fisica, Università La Sapienza di Roma, 00185, Roma, Italy𝑗Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma, 00185, Roma, Italy𝑘Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Barão Geraldo, Campinas 13083-970, SP, Brazil𝑙Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Faculdade de Engenharia, 36036-900, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil𝑚Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S3 7RH, U.K.𝑛Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, Materiali e Ambiente, Sapienza Università di Roma,00185, Roma, ItalyE-mail: fabrizio.petrucci@uniroma3.it∗Corresponding author.c⃝ 2023 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf ofSissa Medialab. Original content from this work may be used under theterms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of thiswork must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citationand DOI.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/18/09/C090102023 JINST 18 C09010Abstract: We are going to discuss the R&D and the prospects for the CYGNO project, towardsthe development of an innovative, high precision 3D tracking Time Projection Chamber withoptical readout using He:CF4 gas at 1 bar. CYGNO uses a stack of triple thin GEMs for chargemultiplication, this induces scintillation in CF4 gas, which is readout by PMTs and sCMOS cameras.High granularity and low readout noise of sCMOS along with high sampling of PMT allows CYGNOto have 3D tracking with head tail capability and particle identification down to O(keV) energy fordirectional Dark Matter searches and solar neutrino spectroscopy. We will present the most recentR&D results from the CYGNO project, and in particular the overground commissioning of thelargest prototype developed so far, LIME with a 33×33 cm2 readout plane and 50 cm of drift length,for a total of 50 litres active volume. We will illustrate the LIME response characterisation between3.7 keV and 44 keV by means of multiple X-ray sources, and the data Monte-Carlo comparisonof simulated sCMOS images in this energy range. Furthermore, we will present current LIMEinstallation, operation and data taking at underground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS),serving as demonstrator for the development of a 0.4 m3 CYGNO detector. We will conclude bymentioning the technical choices and the prospects of the 0.4 m3 detector, as laid out in the TechnicalDesign Report (TDR) recently produced by our collaboration.Keywords: Dark Matter detectors (WIMPs, axions, etc.); Gaseous imaging and tracking detec-tors; Micropattern gaseous detectors (MSGC, GEM, THGEM, RETHGEM, MHSP, MICROPIC,MICROMEGAS, InGrid, etc); Time projection Chambers (TPC)2023 JINST 18 C09010Contents1 The CYGNO experiment 12 Commissioning of the large size prototype 23 Prototype underground operation 34 Future developments 31 The CYGNO experimentThe goal of the CYGNO project is to develop a TPC with optical readout for application to rareevents searches as solar neutrinos or Dark Matter (DM) interactions. The search for DM is one ofthe most pressing tasks for fundamental physics. In the context of the direct detection of light WIMPDM, the expected anisotropic angular distribution of the nuclear recoils induced by DM interactionis considered one of the few, if not the only, handles for a positive claim of DM discovery. Therefore,an increasing effort in the directional detection of these low energy nuclear recoils is being put bythe scientific community [1].In the detector proposed by the CYGNO collaboration [2], the TPC is filled with a gaseousmixture of He and CF4 60:40% at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The amplificationstage consists in three Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs). In the multiplication process, secondarylight is produced by the de-excitation of CF4 molecules. The light is eventually read out by scientificCMOS (sCMOS) cameras, providing a high granularity 2D image of the ionization track, and byphotomultiplier tubes (PMTs) that allow to measure the tilt of the track along the drift directionmeasuring the different arrival times of the clusters. The combined reconstruction allows a 3Ddirectional reconstruction of the track.Figure 1. Scheme (left) and picture (right) of the LIME prototype. The field cage structure, and the cathodecan be seen inside the plexiglass vessel.– 1 –2023 JINST 18 C09010The latest prototype developed by our collaboration is the Large Imaging ModulE (LIME)(figure 1). LIME has a 50 cm drift length and a readout area of 33×33 cm2, for a total volume of 50liters. The electric field in the TPC is controlled by a field cage composed of 35 copper rings thatkeep the electric field uniform in the whole detection volume. The amplification stage is a stack of 3standard GEMs with holes with an internal diameter of 50 μm and pitch of 140 μm, placed 2 mmapart from each other and 7 mm from the beginning of the field cage. One Orca Fusion sCMOScamera from Hamamatsu reads out the entire area and 4 PMTs are used, placed at the corners of thereadout plane.2 Commissioning of the large size prototypeThe LIME prototype was operated at the Frascati National Laboratories of INFN (LNF) during the2021 summer and autumn to test the detector stability. Data were acquired using a multi-energyX-ray source to study the sCMOS sensor detector response in terms of linearity and energy resolution.The voltage difference across the two sides of each GEM foil was set at 440 V. This value waschosen to have a very stable detector operation; the light yield of the GEM stack as a function ofthe applied voltage difference was studied and reported in a previous work [3]. X-ray interactionsare individually seen in the images from the sCMOS sensor as spots or longer tracks depending ontheir energy.A dedicated simulation was developed starting from a Geant4 simulation of the detector thatproduces the particle tracks inside the gas. The detector response in then obtained exploiting a modelthat takes into account the most relevant effects and fluctuations: ionization, diffusion, absorption,amplification and its saturation, light production and collection. The free parameters of the modelwere fixed comparing the simulation result with data taken with a 55Fe source in different positionsand at different detector operating conditions.With the sCMOS sensor we can measure the collected light. As can be seen in figure 2(left) alinear energy response was found between 3.7 keV and 44 keV.Moreover, an energy resolution of about 14% in the whole volume was measured, figure 2(right).A very good agreement between the measurements and our simulation is found. In addition, a 100%reconstruction efficiency was measured at 5.9 keV in the whole volume exploiting a 55Fe source [4].Figure 2. Energy response linearity (left) and resolution as a function of the energy (right) as measured withthe LIME prototype.– 2 –2023 JINST 18 C090103 Prototype underground operationThe LIME prototype was installed underground at National Laboratories of Gran Sasso (3600 m.w.e.)early in 2022 and different data taking periods started since then in different conditions. An automatedsystem allows to control remotely the gas system, the environmental sensors, the High Voltage andthe data acquisition system. Continuous data taking periods are therefore possible to further test thedetector stability.Underground data are being collected and analysed to be compared with MC simulations aimingfor the characterization of the background in different phases. Without any external shielding theexternal background can be measured. Adding a 10 cm copper shielding, the external gammabackground is reduced to measure the external neutron background alone. The final configurationexploits water tanks (40 cm) plus the copper shielding to measure the internal background andperform tests in the final low background and low pile up conditions. Concerning the internalbackground, preliminary measurements of the radioactivity from all main detector components werealready measured with HPGe detectors. The most radioactive components for this prototype resultedto be the copper rings, the resistors and the GEM/cathode.4 Future developmentsThe underground operation of the large prototype, which was successfully achieved, and the testsand measurements in the final low background conditions were the mandatory steps to ensure thecontinuation of the project. The next step in our R&D project (called Phase 1) is the CYGNO-04demonstrator with the goal of demonstrating the full scalability of the technique starting from theLIME design. A detailed TDR [5] was produced and the demonstrator has already been funded. Itconsists in a 0.4 m3 detector to be hosted in LNGS Hall F. The 50×80×100 cm3 volume is dividedinto two back-to-back chambers with a common cathode that will be read out by 4 sCMOS camerasand 12 PMTs. One of the major efforts is being put in reducing the internal background trying toexploit low radioactivity camera sensors, lens and windows in Suprasil, PMMA or polycarbonate.Figure 3. Drawings of the CYGNO-04 demonstrator showing the internal details (left) and its positioninginside its shielding layers in LNGS Hall F.– 3 –2023 JINST 18 C09010AcknowledgmentsThis project has received fundings under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovationprogramme from the European Research Council (ERC) grant agreement No. 818744 and issupported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research through the project PRIN:Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale “Zero Radioactivity in Future experiment” (Prot.2017T54J9J).References[1] F. Mayet et al., A review of the discovery reach of directional Dark Matter detection, Phys. Rept. 627(2016) 1 [arXiv:1602.03781].[2] F.D. Amaro et al., The CYGNO Experiment, Instruments 6 (2022) 6 [arXiv:2202.05480].[3] M. Marafini et al., Study of the Performance of an Optically Readout Triple-GEM, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.65 (2018) 604.[4] E. Baracchini et al., A density-based clustering algorithm for the CYGNO data analysis, 2020 JINST 15T12003 [arXiv:2007.01763].[5] G. Mazzitelli et al., Technical Design Report — TDR CYGNO-04/INITIUM, INFN-23-06-LNF (2023)[DOI:10.15161/OAR.IT/76967].– 4 –

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The CYGNO experiment: a directional Dark Matter detector with optical readout

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