Secondary scintillation yield from GEM and THGEM gaseous electron multipliers for direct dark matter search

• Published in: Physics letters. B 2012-07, Vol.714 (1), p.18-23
• Main Authors: Monteiro, C.M.B., Fernandes, L.M.P., Veloso, J.F.C.A., Oliveira, C.A.B., dos Santos, J.M.F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Argon scintillation; Avalanche photodiodes; Dark matter; Dual-phase detectors; Exact sciences and technology; GEM; Nuclear physics; Physics; The physics of elementary particles and fields; THGEM; Xenon scintillation
• ISSN: 0370-2693; 1873-2445
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2012.06.066

The search for alternatives to PMTs as photosensors in optical TPCs for rare event detection has significantly increased in the last few years. In particular, in view of the next generation large volume detectors, the use of photosensors with lower natural radioactivity, such as large area APDs or GM-APDs, with the additional possibility of sparse surface coverage, triggered the intense study of secondary scintillation production in micropattern electron multipliers, such as GEMs and THGEMs, as alternatives to the commonly used uniform electric field region between two parallel meshes. The much higher scintillation output obtained from the electron avalanches in such microstructures presents an advantage in those situations. The accurate knowledge of the amount of such scintillation is important for correct detector simulation and optimization. It will also serve as a benchmark for software tools developed and/or under development for the calculation of the amount of such scintillation. The secondary scintillation yield, or electroluminescence yield, in the electron avalanches of GEMs and THGEMs operating in gaseous xenon and argon has been determined for different gas pressures. At 1 bar, THGEMs deliver electroluminescence yields that are more than one order of magnitude higher when compared to those achieved in GEMs and two orders of magnitude when compared to those achieved in a uniform field gap. The THGEM electroluminescence yield presents a faster decrease with pressure when comparing to the GEM electroluminescence yield, reaching similar values to what is achieved in GEMs for xenon pressures of 2.5 bar, but still one order of magnitude higher than that produced in a uniform field gap. Another exception is the GEM operating in argon, which presents an electroluminescence yield similar to that produced in a uniform electric field gap, while the THGEM achieves yields that are more than one order of magnitude higher.