München 2019 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

HK: Fachverband Physik der Hadronen und Kerne

HK 54: Poster

HK 54.69: Poster

Thursday, March 21, 2019, 16:30–19:00, Foyer Theresanium

Studying discharge propagations with an optically read-out GEM — •Berkin Ulukutlu and Piotr Gasik — TU München, Physik Department E62, Excellence Cluster ’Universe’, Garching

Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) has become a commonly employed technology for modern high-rate particle and nuclear physics experiments (e.g. upgraded ALICE TPC). A key parameter for their long-term sustainability is stability against electrical discharges. Typically, these electrical breakdown events occur within the holes on the GEM foil, but they may also propagate into the gap between subsequent GEM foils resulting in secondary discharges. It is crucial to mitigate secondary discharges since they can result in irreparable damage to the detector. Accordingly, many successful methods have been developed to increase their stability against discharges. However, the propagation of discharges is still not fully understood.

In this study, an optically readout GEM detector incorporating a sCMOS camera was built as a new tool to investigate the formation of secondary discharges. We used optical imaging to capture the time evolution of the light from discharges. Studying the glow in instances leading and not leading to a secondary discharge, we pursue to determine the underlying mechanisms for discharge propagation.