Qualification tests of the 11000 photomultipliers for the Pierre Auger Observatory fluorescence detectors

Becker, K.-H.; Behrmann, A.; Bracci, F.; Fratte, C. Delle; Luis, P. Facal San; Fontaine, C.; Geenen, H.; Guérin, Diego M. A.; Hartmann, S.; Kampert, K.‐H.; Lavoute, P.; Matthiae, G.; Petrinca, P.; Privitera, P.; Martino, J. Rodrı́guez; Salina, G.; Scherini, V.; Verzi, V.; Weischer, U.; Wiebusch, C. H.

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2007.03.007

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…To cope with the large number of PMTs to be tested in a short amount of time, it is designed to allow for the testing of 20 PMTs simultaneously. The test box described here is effectively a modified version of a test facility that has been used to qualify about 10,000 PMTs operated in the Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory [5]. A most demanding requirement in the present case is to mimic the light expected for the up to about 25,000 MIPs detected by the SSD, corresponding to 7.5 • 10 5 photoelectrons released by the photocathode.…”

Section: The Pmt Test Benchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of bases and qualification tests of Photomultiplier Tubes for the AugerPrime scintillation detectors

Rautenberg¹,

Becker²,

Grosse-Rhode³

et al. 2021

Proceedings of 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2021)

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We describe two test benches that were designed and constructed to perform a set of acceptance tests for about 1200 Photomultiplier Tube (PMT) units to be installed in the surface scintillation detectors of AugerPrime. Besides possessing robustness, long-term reliability, and low power consumption, each PMT-unit requires a dynamic range wide enough to cover signals ranging from a single to more than 20,000 minimum ionizing particles with not more than 5 % deviation from linear response. This posed a particular challenge which was met by combining a specially selected 1.5" PMT type with a custom made Cockcroft Walton type base. The characteristics of the PMT units and qualification results obtained for a large quantity of tested units will be presented and discussed. Besides measuring the gain and linearity for each PMT-unit for different supply voltages, in a sub-sample of about 10 %, we also measured the quantum-efficiency of the photocathode as a function of wavelength as well as its homogeneity across the full photocathode area with 1 mm spatial resolution. The latter is of importance because of the fiber-optical readout of the scintillation detectors.

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Section: The Pmt Test Benchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of bases and qualification tests of Photomultiplier Tubes for the AugerPrime scintillation detectors

Rautenberg¹,

Becker²,

Grosse-Rhode³

et al. 2021

Proceedings of 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2021)

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“…1 In the case of the study presented in this paper, the light detectors were nine FD PMTs (see Fig.2a) of type Photonis XP3062 [9,10]. They were spare PMTs (stored in dark and temperaturecontrolled environment) provided by the Pierre Auger Collaboration and had only been used in qualification tests before [11]. They are 1.5 inch hexagonal tubes with a lime glass window and consist of eight linear-focused dynodes.…”

Section: Photomultiplier Test Stand and Data Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Eq. 1), its nominal HV, and α, both stored in a database [11]. Since the PMT signal baseline variance is proportional to the anode current and the NSB level (cf.…”

Section: Performance Of Photomultipliers At Increased Background Lighmentioning

confidence: 99%

A photomultiplier tube test stand and on-site measurements to characterise the performance of Photonis XP3062 photomultiplier tubes at increased background light conditions and lower gain

Zorn

Daumiller

Engel

et al. 2019

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are widely used in astroparticle physics experiments to detect light flashes (e.g. fluorescence or Cherenkov light) from extensive air showers (EASs) initiated by statistically rare very high energy cosmic particles when travelling through the atmosphere. Their high amplification factor (gain) allows the detection of very low photon fluxes down to single photons. At the same time this sensitivity causes the gain and signal-to-noise ratio to decrease with collected charge over the lifetime of the PMT (referred to as "ageing"). To avoid fast ageing, many experiments limit the PMT operation to reasonably low night sky background (NSB) conditions. However, in order to collect more event statistics at the highest energies, it is desirable to extend the measurement cycle into (part of) nights with higher NSB levels. In case the signal-to-noise ratio remains large enough in the subsequent reconstruction of the EAS events, lowering the PMT gain in such conditions can be an option to avoid faster ageing. In this paper, performance studies under high NSB with Photonis XP3062 PMTs, as used in the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory, are presented. The results suggest that lowering the PMT gain by a factor of 10 while increasing the NSB level by a similar factor does not significantly affect the PMT performance and ageing behaviour so that detection and offline reconstruction of EASs are still possible. Adjusting the PMT gain according to a changing NSB level throughout a night has been shown to be possible and it follows a predictable behaviour. This allows to extend the measurement cycles of experiments, based on PMTs of type Photonis XP3062 or comparable and exposed to the NSB, to enhance the sensitivity especially at the highest energies where events are very rare.

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“…The amount of charge after an initial LED signal of a few hundred nanoseconds was lowered to ∼ 4% (Fig. 2, left), which is still above the standard PMT with ∼ 1.1% [5]. For the R11920-100, the design of the R9420-100 was optimized.…”

Section: Photomultipliermentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a high efficient PMT Winston-cone system for fluorescence measurement of extensive air showers

Kampert¹

2016

Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference — PoS(ICRC2015)

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Fluorescence telescopes are important instruments to measure extensive air showers initiated by ultra-high energetic cosmic rays. They measure the longitudinal profile of the energy deposited in the atmosphere by detecting the de-excitation of nitrogen molecules in the UV-range. In recent years the development of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) has led to an increase of more than 30% in photon detection sensitivity, by using newly developed super-bialkali (SBA) photocathodes. Thus, the telescopes can detect even fainter signals over a larger area resulting in a significant increase in aperture. To develop telescopes for a next generation cosmic ray observatory, the camera needs to have a maximal sensitive area in the focal plane. Winston cones can efficiently cover the dead area between the photocathodes of the PMTs. Such a highly efficient system composed of an SBA PMT and Winston cone has been developed, based on the design of the fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory. This contribution shows the development of the optical detection system and first tests in one of the fluorescence telescopes.

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Qualification tests of the 11000 photomultipliers for the Pierre Auger Observatory fluorescence detectors

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

Development of bases and qualification tests of Photomultiplier Tubes for the AugerPrime scintillation detectors

Development of bases and qualification tests of Photomultiplier Tubes for the AugerPrime scintillation detectors

A photomultiplier tube test stand and on-site measurements to characterise the performance of Photonis XP3062 photomultiplier tubes at increased background light conditions and lower gain

Development of a high efficient PMT Winston-cone system for fluorescence measurement of extensive air showers

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