Scalability, scintillation readout and charge drift in a kilogram scale solid xenon particle detector

Abstract

We report a demonstration of the scalability of optically transparent xenon in the solid phase for use as a particle detector above a kilogram scale. We employ a liquid nitrogen cooled cryostat combined with a xenon purification and chiller system to measure the scintillation light output and electron drift speed from both the solid and liquid phases of xenon. Scintillation light output from sealed radioactive sources is measured by a set of high quantum efficiency photomultiplier tubes suitable for cryogenic applications. We observed a reduced amount of photons in solid phase compared to that in liquid phase. We used a conventional time projection chamber system to measure the electron drift time in a kilogram of solid xenon and observed faster electron drift speed in the solid phase xenon compared to that in the liquid phase.