Construction and testing of a Top Counting Detector and a Bottom Counting Detector for the Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass experiment on the International Space Station

Abstract

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) mission is planned for launch in 2015 to the International Space Station (ISS) to research high-energy cosmic rays. Its aim is to understand the acceleration and propagation mechanism of high-energy cosmic rays by measuring their compositions. The Top Counting Detector and Bottom Counting Detector (T/BCD) were built to discriminate electrons from protons by using the difference in cascade shapes between electromagnetic and hadronic showers. The T/BCD provides a redundant instrument trigger in flight as well as a low-energy calibration trigger for ground testing. Each detector consists of a plastic scintillator and two-dimensional silicon photodiode array with readout electronics. The TCD is located between the carbon target and the calorimeter, and the BCD is located below the calorimeter. In this paper, we present the design, assembly, and performance of the T/BCD.