High Energy Particle Detector Research Articles

The electronics of the HEPD of the CSES experiment

The China Seismo Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) aims to contribute to the monitoring of earthquakes from space. This space mission, lead by a Chinese-Italian collaboration, will study phenomena of electromagnetic nature and their correlation with the geophysical activity. The satellite will be launched in 2017 and will host several instruments onboard: two magnetometers, an electrical field detector, a plasma analyzer, a Langmiur probe and the High Energy Particle Detector (HEPD). The HEPD, built by the Italian collaboration, will study the temporal stability of the inner Van Allen radiation belts, investigating precipitation of trapped particles induced by magnetospheric, ionosferic and tropospheric electromagnetic emissions, as well as by seismo-electromagnetic disturbances. It consists of one layer of plastic scintillators for trigger and a calorimeter. The direction of the incident particle is provided by two planes of double-side silicon microstrip detectors. HEPD is capable of separating electrons and protons and identify nuclei up to Iron. The HEPD will study the low energy component of cosmic rays too. The HEPD comprises the following subsystems: detector, electronics, power supply and mechanics. The electronics can be divided in three blocks: silicon detector, scintillator detectors (trigger, energy and veto detectors) and global control and data managing.

Study of the performance of the HEPD apparatus for the CSES mission

The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) is one of the payloads of the CSES space mission. The CSES (China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite) mission will investigate the structure and the dynamic of the topside ionosphere, will monitor electric and magnetic field and high energy particle fluctuations, searching for their correlations with the geophysical activity, in order to contribute to the monitoring of earthquakes from space. The HEPD is built by the Italian collaboration and has different goals. It will study the temporal stability of the inner Van Allen radiation belts, the precipitation of trapped particles in the atmosphere and the low energy component of the cosmic rays (5 - 100 MeV for electrons and 15 - 300 MeV for protons). Here is presented a study of the performance of the apparatus to separate electrons and protons and identify nuclei up to iron.

Giant Enhancement of Cathodoluminescence of Monolayer Transitional Metal Dichalcogenides Semiconductors.

Monolayer two-dimensional transitional metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS2, WS2, and WSe2, are direct band gap semiconductors with large exciton binding energy. They attract growing attentions for optoelectronic applications including solar cells, photodetectors, light-emitting diodes and phototransistors, capacitive energy storage, photodynamic cancer therapy, and sensing on flexible platforms. While light-induced luminescence has been widely studied, luminescence induced by injection of free electrons could promise another important applications of these new materials. However, cathodoluminescence is inefficient due to the low cross-section of the electron-hole creating process in the monolayers. Here for the first time we show that cathodoluminescence of monolayer chalcogenide semiconductors can be evidently observed in a van der Waals heterostructure when the monolayer semiconductor is sandwiched between layers of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) with higher energy gap. The emission intensity shows a strong dependence on the thicknesses of surrounding layers and the enhancement factor is more than 500-fold. Strain-induced exciton peak shift in the suspended heterostructure is also investigated by the cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. Our results demonstrate that MoS2, WS2, and WSe2 could be promising cathodoluminescent materials for applications in single-photon emitters, high-energy particle detectors, transmission electron microscope displays, surface-conduction electron-emitter, and field emission display technologies.

An energy spectrum smoothing algorithm based on TCC-DEE

A smoothing algorithm for energy spectrum based on differential nonlinearity (DNL) error elimination with total counts conservation for high-energy particle detector systems is presented. It is physics based and is only determined by the DNL error of analog-to-digital converter device itself. From the experimental results, this algorithm slightly improves both noise performance and energy resolution, while greatly reduces the testing errors by almost a half compared to their original values. In addition, the reduced- $$\chi ^2$$ statistic for evaluating the Gaussian fitting goodness is significantly reduced by almost two orders after smoothing. As a typical verification example, this algorithm is successfully applied in the ground calibration of the Low Energy X-ray Instrument onboard the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT-LE) satellite, lending it a powerful, nondestructive and low-cost tool for both calibration and data processing for high-energy particle detector systems.

The stochastic highlighting of polygon edges in the transparent visualization of large-scale polygon meshes: application to visualizing a high-energy elementary particle detector

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we propose a new stochastic algorithm that supports high-quality transparent visualization of line objects and apply it to polygon edges of complex three-dimensional (3D) polygon models. We also apply it to realizing transparent wireframe visualization that greatly improves comprehensibility of the conventional method. In our algorithm, the line opacity is recognized as the probability that a pixel on the image plane becomes the projected line colour. Our stochastic algorithm successfully makes a depth sort of rendering primitives, which often causes rendering artefacts and a wrong depth feel in conventional non-stochastic transparent rendering, unnecessary. We demonstrate our method using 3D models of the ATLAS detector, which is the world's largest high-energy elementary particle detector at CERN laboratory (EU) and a complex car engine. We also demonstrate the transparent wireframe visualization using the simulation data, which consist of many line objects, acquired for the ATLAS detector.

The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) on Board the CSES Mission

AbstractThe High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) will measure electrons, protons and light nuclei fluxes, in low Earth orbit. This detector consists of a high precision silicon tracker, a versatile trigger system, a range-calorimeter and an anti-coincidence system. It is one of the instruments on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES). HEPD can detect multi-MeV particles trapped within the geomagnetic field. When operated at large latitudes HEPD can also detect un-trapped solar particles and low energy cosmic rays. A detailed description of the HEPD will be given.

A parameterized energy correction method for electromagnetic showers in BGO-ECAL of DAMPE

DAMPE is a space-based mission designed as a high energy particle detector measuring cosmic-rays and γ-rays which was successfully launched on Dec.17, 2015. The BGO electromagnetic calorimeter is one of the key sub-detectors of DAMPE for energy measurement of electromagnetic showers produced by e±/γ. Due to energy loss in dead material and energy leakage outside the calorimeter, the deposited energy in BGO underestimates the primary energy of incident e±/γ. In this paper, based on detailed MC simulations, a parameterized energy correction method using the lateral and longitudinal information of electromagnetic showers has been studied and verified with data of electron beam test at CERN. The measurements of energy linearity and resolution are significant improved by applying this correction method for electromagnetic showers.

The High-Energy Particle Detector on board of the CSES mission

The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) is a range-calorimeter for the near-Earth measurement of electrons, protons and light nuclei fluxes up to few hundreds of MeV. HEPD will fly on board of the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES), scheduled to be launched in July/August 2017. This mission will investigate possible correlations between geomagnetic properties (electromagnetic wave emissions, plasma properties and particle fluxes in the ionosphere and magnetosphere) and seismic events. The study of the solar-terrestrial environment, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), Solar Energetic Particles (SEPS) events and low-energy cosmic rays are also within the scientific objectives of this mission. A detailed description of the HEPD and its characteristics will be reported.

The HEPD particle detector and the EFD electric field detector for the CSES satellite

The CSES satellite, developed by Chinese (CNSA) and Italian (ASI) space Agencies, will investigate iono-magnetospheric disturbances (induced by seismicity and electromagnetic emissions of tropospheric and anthropogenic origin); will monitor the temporal stability of the inner Van Allen radiation belts and will study the solar-terrestrial coupling by measuring fluxes of cosmic rays and solar energetic particles. In particular the mission aims at confirming the existences (claimed from several analyses) of a temporal correlations between the occurrence of earthquakes and the observation in space of electromagnetic disturbances, plasma fluctiations and anomalous fluxes of high-energy particles precipitating from the inner Van Allen belt. CSES will be launched in the summer of 2017 with a multi-instruments payload able to measure: e.m. fields, charged particles, plasma, TEC, etc. The Italian LIMADOU collaboration will provide the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD), designed for detecting electrons (3–200MeV) and proton (30–300MeV)), and participates to develop the Electric Field Detector (EFD) conceived for measuring electric field from ∼DC up to 5MHz.

Detection of high energy particles using CR-39 detectors part 1: Results of microscopic examination, scanning, and LET analysis

CR-39 detectors were used to detect high energy particles produced during Pd/D co-deposition. Upon completion of the experiments, the detectors were subjected to either microscopic examination, scanning using an automated scanner to obtain quantitative information on the tracks, sequential etching, or linear energy transfer (LET) spectrum analysis. Both the sequential etching and LET analysis allowed speciation of the particles that caused the tracks as well as estimating their energies. In these experiments it was shown that the tracks coincide with the placement of the Pd deposit. The average number of tracks obtained as a result of Pd/D co-deposition is more than 133 times greater than that found in the background. In this communication, the results of microscopic examination, scanning, and LET analysis are discussed.

Detection of high energy particles using CR-39 detectors Part 2: Results of in-depth destructive etching analysis

We have performed Pd electrodeposition in both D2O and H2O electrolytes in the presence of a magnetic field using CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors. These detectors were either immersed in the electrolyte or separated from it by a thin Mylar® film. We have found a statistically significant increase in the number of tracks measured in the D2O experiments when compared to the H2O experiments.

Design and fabrication of an optimum peripheral region for low gain avalanche detectors

Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) represent a remarkable advance in high energy particle detection, since they provide a moderate increase (gain ~10) of the collected charge, thus leading to a notable improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio, which largely extends the possible application of Silicon detectors beyond their present working field. The optimum detection performance requires a careful implementation of the multiplication junction, in order to obtain the desired gain on the read out signal, but also a proper design of the edge termination and the peripheral region, which prevents the LGAD detectors from premature breakdown and large leakage current.This work deals with the critical technological aspects required to optimize the LGAD structure. The impact of several design strategies for the device periphery is evaluated with the aid of TCAD simulations, and compared with the experimental results obtained from the first LGAD prototypes fabricated at the IMB-CNM clean room. Solutions for the peripheral region improvement are also provided.

Light nuclear charge measurement with Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a high energy particle detector installed and operating on board of the International Space Station (ISS) since May 2011. So far more than 70billion cosmic ray events have been recorded by AMS. In the present paper the Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL) detector of AMS is used to measure cosmic ray nuclear charge magnitudes up to Z=10. The obtained charge magnitude resolution is about 0.1 and 0.3 charge unit for Helium and Carbon, respectively. These measurements are important for an accurate determination of the interaction probabilities of various nuclei with the AMS materials. The ECAL charge calibration and measurement procedures are presented.

Characterization of an LSO scintillator for space applications

Currently BGO (Bi4Ge3O12) is widely used for the detection of high-energy particles in space applications because of its high stopping power, the non-hygroscopic characteristics and its ruggedness with respect to mechanical stress. The new Cerium doped LSO (Lu2SiO5) offers the same benefits with higher light output capabilities and a significantly shorter decay time. We investigated key characteristics of an LSO scintillator in view of its use in space missions. We characterized the intrinsic spectrum which originates from the decay of 176Lu and showed that it consists of three different parts arising from different effects: the native intrinsic spectrum, chance coincidence effects and energy deposition in the readout photodiode. Furthermore we investigated the light-quenching of LSO for heavy ions with measurements performed at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), Japan. We found that LSO is a promising candidate for future space missions.

High throughput on-chip analysis of high-energy charged particle tracks using lensfree imaging

We demonstrate a high-throughput charged particle analysis platform, which is based on lensfree on-chip microscopy for rapid ion track analysis using allyl diglycol carbonate, i.e., CR-39 plastic polymer as the sensing medium. By adopting a wide-area opto-electronic image sensor together with a source-shifting based pixel super-resolution technique, a large CR-39 sample volume (i.e., 4 cm × 4 cm × 0.1 cm) can be imaged in less than 1 min using a compact lensfree on-chip microscope, which detects partially coherent in-line holograms of the ion tracks recorded within the CR-39 detector. After the image capture, using highly parallelized reconstruction and ion track analysis algorithms running on graphics processing units, we reconstruct and analyze the entire volume of a CR-39 detector within ∼1.5 min. This significant reduction in the entire imaging and ion track analysis time not only increases our throughput but also allows us to perform time-resolved analysis of the etching process to monitor and optimize the growth of ion tracks during etching. This computational lensfree imaging platform can provide a much higher throughput and more cost-effective alternative to traditional lens-based scanning optical microscopes for ion track analysis using CR-39 and other passive high energy particle detectors.

On the analysis of inhomogeneous magnetic field spectrometer for laser-driven ion acceleration.

We present a detailed study of the use of a non-parallel, inhomogeneous magnetic field spectrometer for the investigation of laser-accelerated ion beams. Employing a wedged yoke design, we demonstrate the feasibility of an in-situ self-calibration technique of the non-uniform magnetic field and show that high-precision measurements of ion energies are possible in a wide-angle configuration. We also discuss the implications of a stacked detector system for unambiguous identification of different ion species present in the ion beam and explore the feasibility of detection of high energy particles beyond 100 MeV/amu in radiation harsh environments.

An FPGA-Based Pulse Pile-up Rejection Technique for Photon Counting Imaging Detectors**Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No 11375179.

A novel FPGA-based pulse pile-up rejection method for single photon imaging detectors is reported. The method is easy to implement in FPGAs for real-time data processing. The rejection principle and entire design are introduced in detail. The photon counting imaging detector comprises a micro-channel plate (MCP) stack, and a wedge and strip anode (WSA). The resolution mask pattern in front of the MCP can be reconstructed after data processing in the FPGA. For high count rates, the rejection design can effectively reduce the impact of the pulse pile-up on the image. The resolution can reach up to 140 μm. The pulse pile-up rejection design can also be applied to high-energy physics and particle detection.

New detecting techniques for a future calorimetry

In the last forty years, application of crystalline materials in homogeneous Electromagnetic Calorimeters has played a crucial role in the discovery of matter properties and promoted a continuous progress in the detecting technique. The detection systems progressed from small detectors based on NaI(Tl), CsI(Na), BaF2, PbF2, and Bi4Ge3O12 to giant Electromagnetic Calorimeters of CMS, ALICE Collaborations at LHC and PANDA Collaboration at FAIR, where the systems consisted of thousands lead tungstate PbWO4 scintillation crystals. Lead tungstate (PWO) became the most extensively used scintillation material in high energy physics experiments. PWO possesses a unique combination of scintillation properties including high energy and time resolutions in the detection of high energy particles. Here, we report on the results of the two photon absorption in PWO crystals obtained by pump-probe technique using ultra short laser pulses. The results demonstrate that the relaxation processes in PWO offer capability of this material to be used in detection systems to make a time stamp with precision close to 10-12 s or even better.

Performance of the AMS-02 Electromagnetic Calorimeter in Space

AMS-02(Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer) is an high energy particle detector developed to operate on the International Space Station. AMS-02 was installed on ISS on May 2011 and is expected to operate for 10-20 years collecting about 160-320 billions of events. The main goals of the experiment are the detection of primordial antimatter and dark matter by studying spectra and flux of different cosmic ray components (protons, electrons, nuclei, positrons, antiprotons, gamma rays, etc) in the high energy range (1-2000 GeV). Identification of electrons, positrons and photons is provided by the Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL), a fine grained lead-scintillating fibers sampling calorimeter that allows for a precise three-dimensional imaging of the longitudinal and lateral shower development. It provides an excellent reconstruction of electromagnetic shower energy and a highly efficient rejection of the hadronic background. Thanks to the 3D shower reconstruction capability, ECAL allows a stand-alone determination of the incoming particle direction, with unprecedented angular resolution. As a result, ECAL is able to identify high energy photons coming from galactic or extragalactic sources.

Development of High Energy Particle Detector for the Study of Space Radiation Storm

Next Generation Small Satellite-1 (NEXTSat-1) is scheduled to launch in 2017 and Instruments for the Study of Space Storm (ISSS) is planned to be onboard the NEXTSat-1. High Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) is one of the equipment comprising ISSS and the main objective of HEPD is to measure the high energy particles streaming into the Earth radiation belt during the event of a space storm, especially, electrons and protons, to obtain the flux information of those particles. For the design of HEPD, the Geometrical Factor was calculated to be 0.05 to be consistent with the targets of measurement and the structure of telescope with field of view of <TEX>$33.4^{\circ}$</TEX> was designed using this factor. In order to decide the thickness of the detector sensor and the classification of the detection channels, a simulation was performed using GEANT4. Based on the simulation results, two silicon detectors with 1 mm thickness were selected and the aluminum foil of 0.05 mm is placed right in front of the silicon detectors to shield low energy particles. The detection channels are divided into an electron channel and two proton channels based on the measured LET of the particle. If the measured LET is less than 0.8 MeV, the particle belongs to the electron channel, otherwise it belongs to proton channels. HEPD is installed in the direction of <TEX>$0^{\circ}$</TEX>, <TEX>$45^{\circ}$</TEX>, <TEX>$90^{\circ}$</TEX> against the along-track of a satellite to enable the efficient measurement of high energy particles. HEPD detects electrons with the energy of 0.1 MeV to several MeV and protons with the energy of more than a few MeV. Thus, the study on the dynamic mechanism of these particles in the Earth radiation belt will be performed.