Screener3D: a gaseous time projection chamber for ultra-low radioactive material screening

Abstract

In experiments searching for rare signals, background events from the detector itself are some of the major factors limiting search sensitivity.Screening for ultra-low radioactive detector materials is becoming ever more essential. We propose to develop a gaseous time projection chamber (TPC) with a Micromegas readout for radio screening. The TPC records three-dimensional trajectories of charged particles emitted from a flat sample placed in the active volume of the detector. The detector can distinguish the origin of an event and identify the particle types with information from trajectories, which significantly increases the screening sensitivity. For $\alpha$ particles from the sample surface, we observe that our proposed detector can reach a sensitivity higher than 100 $\mu$Bq$\cdot$m$^{-2}$ within two days.