Accelerator test of an angle detecting inclined sensor (ADIS) prototype with beams of 48Ca and fragments

Abstract

The measurement of cosmic rays and Solar energetic particles in space is basic to our understanding of the Galaxy, the Sun, phenomena in the Heliosphere and what has come to be known broadly as “space weather”. For these reasons, cosmic ray instruments are common on both scientific spacecraft and operational spacecraft such as weather satellites. The resource constraints on spacecraft generally mean that instruments that measure cosmic rays and Solar energetic particles must have low mass (a few kg) and low power (a few W), be robust and reliable yet still highly capable. Such instruments must identify ionic species (at least by element, preferably by isotope) from protons through the iron group. The charge and mass resolution of heavy ion instruments in space depends upon determining ions’ angles of incidence. The Angle Detecting Inclined Sensor (ADIS) system is a highly innovative and uniquely simple detector configuration used to determine the angle of incidence of heavy ions in space instruments. ADIS replaces complex position sensing detectors (PSDs) with a system of simple, reliable and robust Si detectors inclined at an angle to the instrument axis. In August 2004, we tested ADIS prototypes with a 48Ca beam at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory's (NSCL) Coupled Cyclotron Facility (CCF). Among the analyses performed on the data taken at the NSCL, we demonstrate that our prototype design with an ADIS system has a charge resolution of less than 0.25 e. We also present a more generalized analytic derivation of instrument response and report on the corresponding analysis of Monte-Carlo modeling data.