CERN Accelerating science

Article
Report number	CERN-ALI-98-13 ; CERN-ALICE-PUB-98-13
Title	Fast Micro-Channel Plate Detector for MIPs
Author(s)	Antropov, A E ; Feofilov, G A ; Kasatkin, V A ; Klempt, W ; Kolojvari, A A ; Kondratev, V P ; Martinov, V ; Lazarev, V A ; Novikov, I A ; Potapov, S V ; Stolyarov, O I ; Tsimbal, F A ; Tulina, T A ; Valiev, F F ; Vinogradov, L I
Affiliation	(CERN)
Publication	1999
Imprint	30 Jun 1998
In:	Nucl. Phys. B, Proc. Suppl. 78 (1999) 416-21
DOI	10.1016/S0920-5632(99)00579-4
Subject category	Detectors and Experimental Techniques
Accelerator/Facility, Experiment	CERN LHC ; ALICE
Abstract	Abstract for the 6th International Conference on Advanced Technology and Particle Physics, to be held at Villa Olmo, Como, Italy, 5-9 October 1998. For a couple of the last decades Micro-channel plates (MCPs) are known as a fast (1 ns), fine granularity (5-12&micro;), high gain (10<SUP>3</SUP> -10<SUP>4</SUP>), excellent time resolution (30-50 ps), high counting rate (10<SUP>11</SUP> 1/cm<SUP>2</SUP> was reported) and efficient detector widely used in low energy nuclear physics. Nevertheless, these nice features have not been exploited sufficiently in the high energy experiments so far. <P>The use of MCPs in the HEP experiments demands the developments of technologies different from the low-energy applications: in particular the low mass vacuum thin-wall chambers in the UHV technique. It is the great intrinsic capability of the MCPs for the registration of MIPs, high gain and sharp signals that prompted us to develop a fast multiplicity detector for ALICE at the LHC. The chevron MCP setup (gain up to 10*8) gives a strong signal for the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) readout system capable of combining hte isochronous fast components of the signal summation over the MCP disk with the charge registration from the individual pads for any event. This isochronous multipad readout is based on a specifically developed multichannel passive summator (which serves also as the UHF filter). In the present report we present the status of the isochronous MCP disk development and the experimental tests:<UL><LI>model simulations of the MCP detector performance in heavy ion collisions at the LHC<LI>tests of various MCP structures (small area prototypes and sector multipad prototype).</UL>The programme of experimental tests included: <UL><LI>efficiency<LI>timing resolution<LI>long term stability<LI>radiation hardness<LI>counting rates<LI>multiplicity resolution</UL><P>The first results achieved so far:<UL><LI>efficiency for MIPs (our old results: 80; K.Oba et al.: 90; Hamamatsu reference: 96; the tests of our new sector prototype are planned).<LI>timing resolution (our old in-beam results: 86ps; our in-lab new results: 30-40ps; new in-beam tests are planned).<LI>radiation hardness (passive tests at PNPI were done with neutrons up to 10<SUP>19</SUP> for 1cm<SUP>2</SUP>).<LI>counting rates studies (are in progress)</UL><P>Further important tests are planned at the available beams in 1998: efficiency for MIPs, timing resolution, multiplicity resolution. Results are tobe presented and discussed.

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