A large area 100 channel Picosec Micromegas detector with sub 20 ps time resolution

• Main Authors: Utrobicic, Antonija, Angelis, Yannis, Aune, Stephan, Bortfeldt, Jonathan, Brunbauer, Florian, Chatzianagnostou, Evridiki, Dehmelt, Klaus, Desforge, Daniel, Fanourakis, George, Floethner, Karl Jonathan, Gallinaro, Michele, Garcia, Francisco, Garg, Prakhar, Giomataris, Ioannis, Gnanvo, Kondo, Gustavsson, Thomas, Iguaz, Francisco Jose, Janssens, Djunes, Kallitsopoulou, Alexandra, Kovacic, Marinko, Legou, Philippe, Lisowska, Marta, Liu, Jianbei, Lupberger, Michael, Malace, Simona, Maniatis, Ioannis, Meng, Yue, Muller, Hans, Oliveri, Eraldo, Orlandini, Giorgio, Papaevangelou, Thomas, Pomorski, Michal, Ropelewski, Leszek, Sampsonidis, Dimos, Scharenberg, Lucian, Schneider, Thomas, Sohl, Lukas, van Stenis, Miranda, Tsipolitis, Yorgos, Tzamarias, Spyros, Veenhof, Rob, Wang, Xu, White, Sebastian, Zhang, Zhiyong, Zhou, Yi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 31-03-2023
• Subjects: Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2304.00056

The PICOSEC Micromegas precise timing detector is based on a Cherenkov
radiator coupled to a semi-transparent photocathode and a Micromegas
amplification structure. The first proof of concept single-channel small area
prototype was able to achieve time resolution below 25 ps. One of the crucial
aspects in the development of the precise timing gaseous detectors applicable
in high-energy physics experiments is a modular design that enables large area
coverage. The first 19-channel multi-pad prototype with an active area of
approximately 10 cm$^2$ suffered from degraded timing resolution due to the
non-uniformity of the preamplification gap. A new 100 cm$^2$ detector module
with 100 channels based on a rigid hybrid ceramic/FR4 Micromegas board for
improved drift gap uniformity was developed. Initial measurements with 80 GeV/c
muons showed improvements in timing response over measured pads and a time
resolution below 25 ps. More recent measurements with a new thinner drift gap
detector module and newly developed RF pulse amplifiers show that the
resolution can be enhanced to a level of 17~ps. This work will present the
development of the detector from structural simulations, design, and beam test
commissioning with a focus on the timing performance of a thinner drift gap
detector module in combination with new electronics using an automated timing
scan method.