A successful operation of a new optical readout system (THGEM + WLS + MGPDs (multichannel array of multipixel avalanche Geiger photodiodes) in a two-phase liquid xenon detector was demonstrated.
A successfull application of Geiger-mode multipixel avalanche diodes (GMAPDs) for pulse-shape discrimination in alpha-beta spectrometry using organic liquid scintillator is described in this paper. Efficient discrimination of alpha and beta components in the emission of radioactive isotopes is achieved for alpha energies above 0.3 MeV. The ultra-compact design of the scintillating detector helps to efficiently suppress cosmic-ray and ambient radiation background. This approach allows construction of hand-held robust devices for monitoring of radioactive contamination in various environmental conditions.
Dual phase xenon detectors are widely used in experimental searches for galactic darkmatter particles. The origin of single electron backgrounds following prompt scintillation and proportional scintillation signals in these detectors is not fully understood, although there has been progress in recent years. In this paper, we describe single electron backgrounds in ${}^{83m}Kr$ calibration events and their correlation with drift and extraction fields, using the Particle Identification in Xenon at Yale (PIXeY) dual-phase xenon time projection chamber. The single electron background induced by the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) effect is measured, and its electric field dependence is quantified. The photoionization of grids and impurities by prompt scintillation and proportional scintillation also contributes to the single electron background.
First imaging results in liquid xenon of a Liquid Hole Multiplier (LHM) coupled to a Quad-Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) array are presented. Ionization electrons deposited in the noble liquid by 5.5 MeV alpha particles, are collected into the holes of a Thick Gas Electron Multiplier (THGEM) electrode having a xenon gas bubble trapped underneath. They drift through the liquid-gas interface, inducing electroluminescence within the bubble. The resulting photons are detected with a Hamamatsu VUV4 quad-SiPM array - providing the deposited energy with a charge-only RMS resolution of 6.6%. The image reconstruction resolution was estimated to be ~200 um (RMS).
We present an experimental study of single electron emission in ZEPLIN-III, a two-phase xenon experiment built to search for dark matter WIMPs, and discuss applications enabled by the excellent signal-to-noise ratio achieved in detecting this signature. Firstly, we demonstrate a practical method for precise measurement of the free electron lifetime in liquid xenon during normal operation of these detectors. Then, using a realistic detector response model and backgrounds, we assess the feasibility of deploying such an instrument for measuring coherent neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering using the ionisation channel in the few-electron regime. We conclude that it should be possible to measure this elusive neutrino signature above an ionisation threshold of $sim$3 electrons both at a stopped pion source and at a nuclear reactor. Detectable signal rates are larger in the reactor case, but the triggered measurement and harder recoil energy spectrum afforded by the accelerator source enable lower overall background and fiducialisation of the active volume.
We present the first measurements of the electroluminescence response to the emission of single electrons in a two-phase noble gas detector. Single ionization electrons generated in liquid xenon are detected in a thin gas layer during the 31-day background run of the ZEPLIN-II experiment, a two-phase xenon detector for WIMP dark matter searches. Both the pressure dependence and magnitude of the single-electron response are in agreement with previous measurements of electroluminescence yield in xenon. We discuss different photoionization processes as possible cause for the sample of single electrons studied in this work. This observation may have implications for the design and operation of future large-scale two-phase systems.