Development of Large Area Gas Electron Multiplier Detector and Its Application to a Digital Hadron Calorimeter for Future Collider Experiments

Abstract

The UTA High Energy Physics Group conducted generic detector development based on large area, very thin and high sensitivity gas detector using gas electron multiplier (GEM) technology. This is in preparation for a use as a sensitive medium for sampling calorimeters in future collider experiments at the Energy Frontier as well as part of the tracking detector in Intensity Frontier experiments. We also have been monitoring the long term behavior of one of the prototype detectors (30cmx30cm) read out by the SLAC-developed 13-bit KPiX analog chip over three years and have made presentations of results at various APS meetings. While the important next step was the development of large area (1m x 1m) GEM planes, we also have looked into opportunities of applying this technology to precision tracking detectors to significantly improve the performance of the Range Stack detector for CP violation experiments and to provide an amplification layer for the liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber in the LBNE experiment. We have jointly developed 33cmx100cm large GEM foils with the CERN gas detector development group to construct 33cm x100cm unit chambers. Three of these unit chambers will be put together to form a 1m x 1m detector plane. Following characterization of one 33cmx100cm unit chamber prototype, a total of five 1m x 1m planes will be constructed and inserted into an existing 1m3 RPC DHCAL stack to test the performance of the new GEM DHCAL in particle beams. The large area GEM detector we planned to develop in this proposal not only gives an important option to DHCAL for future collider experiments but also the potential to expand its use to Intensity Frontier and Cosmic Frontier experiments as high efficiency, high amplification anode planes for liquid Argon time projection chambers. Finally, thanks to its sensitivity to X-rays and other neutral radiations and its light-weight characteristics, the large area GEM has a great potential for the use in medical imaging and homeland security, as well as satellite based astronomy experiments.