Large-Scale Detector Testing for the GAPS Si(Li) Tracker

Lithium-drifted silicon [Si(Li)] has been used for decades as an ionizing radiation detector in nuclear, particle, and astrophysics experiments, though such detectors have frequently been limited to small sizes (few cm 2 ) and cryogenic operating temperatures. The 10-cm-diameter Si(Li) detectors dev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on nuclear science 2023-08, Vol.70 (8), p.1-1
Main Authors: Xiao, Mengjiao, Stoessl, Achim, Roach, Brandon, Gerrity, Cory, Bouche, Ian, Bridges, Gabriel, Von Doetinchem, Philip, Hailey, Charles J., Kraych, Derik, Katt, Anika, Law, Michael, Lowell, Alexander, Martinez, Evan, Perez, Kerstin, Reed, Maggie, Rodriguez, Chelsea, Saffold, Nathan, Stringfield, Ceaser, Weiner, Hershel, Yee, Kelsey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Area
Arrays
Astrophysics
Cryoforming
Cryogenic temperature
Dark matter
Detectors
Energy resolution
Flanges
High temperature
Ionizing radiation
Lithium
Low cost
Nuclear physics
Operating temperature
Preamplifiers
Radiation detectors
Silicon
Strips
Testing
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Summary:Lithium-drifted silicon [Si(Li)] has been used for decades as an ionizing radiation detector in nuclear, particle, and astrophysics experiments, though such detectors have frequently been limited to small sizes (few cm 2 ) and cryogenic operating temperatures. The 10-cm-diameter Si(Li) detectors developed for the General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) balloon-borne dark matter experiment are novel particularly for their requirements of low cost, large sensitive area (~10 m 2 for the full 1440-detector array), high temperatures (near -40 °C), and energy resolution below 4 keV FWHM for 20-100-keV x-rays. Previous works have discussed the manufacturing, passivation, and small-scale testing of prototype GAPS Si(Li) detectors. Here we show for the first time the results from detailed characterization of over 1100 flight detectors, illustrating the consistent intrinsic low-noise performance of a large sample of GAPS detectors. This work demonstrates the feasibility of large-area and low-cost Si(Li) detector arrays for next-generation astrophysics and nuclear physics applications.
ISSN:0018-9499
1558-1578
DOI:10.1109/TNS.2023.3291235