Cu Hybrid 4 Channel Cosmic Ray Detector

Abstract

There are, in the universe, several sources that produce very energetic cosmic rays that interact with the Earth´s atmosphere and create new low energy particles. To detect them there are different methods, according to the interaction with a medium such as the ionization of a material and Cerenkov radiation, among others. In this work a hybrid cosmic ray detector of 4 channels was designed, built and tested at the Laboratorio de Partículas Elementales of the Universidad de Guanajuato. A Copper bar was used as detection material, both smaller area faces have an ionization and a Cerenkov radiation detection channel. To detect the Cerenkov radiation, Hamamatsu silicon photodiodes were used, and for the ionization channels an RC circuit was developed to measure the signal. The ionization channels were tested simultaneously, observing the analogic signal on an oscilloscope. The RC circuit and discriminator were designed to be on the same board; with the discriminator we can digitize the analogic signal. Details of the design, construction and testing of the ionization channel are presented.