Development of the Light Collection Module for the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC)

Abstract

A modular liquid argon (LAr) Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with pixelated charge readout is considered as a part of the near-detector for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) [1]. Such a TPC is being developed by the ArgonCube collaboration [2]. To provide a trigger for the data acquisition (DAQ) of a neutrino event the LAr scintillation light detection is proposed. The light is a vacuum ultraviolet (UV) with 128 nm wavelength, thus, it is a challenge to register it. The main requirements imposed on the light detection system are a good performance at cryogenic temperatures, non-conductive materials, compact dimensions, and a detection efficiency at a level of percent. A Light Collection Module (LCM) as a candidate for the system has been developed at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. The LCM is based on the wavelength-shifting (WLS) fibers that are coated with Tetraphenyl Butadiene (TPB) and read out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). Also at JINR, a full readout chain for the light detection system has been developed, consisting of the front-end electronics, power-supply for the SiPMs, and the DAQ. A cryogenic test setup has been built at JINR to study the performance of the LCM in LAr. A similar study was carried out in the laboratory for high energy physics of Bern University with highly purified LAr. These studies have shown that the photon detection efficiency (PDE) of the LCM for the LAr scintillation light is about 1–2%. Further tests in the ArgonCube prototype TPC will provide the real performance of the LCM system with a full readout chain.