Electron drift in a large scale solid xenon

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that electron drift speeds in large-scale solid xenon are approximately twice as fast as in liquid xenon, using optical and electrical measurements to compare phases at different temperatures.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale measurement of electron drift speeds in solid xenon, showing significant speed enhancement over liquid xenon.

Findings

Electron drift speed in liquid xenon: 0.193 cm/μs

Electron drift speed in solid xenon: 0.397 cm/μs

Solid xenon drift speed is about twice that of liquid xenon

Abstract

A study of charge drift in a large scale optically transparent solid xenon is reported. A pulsed high power xenon light source is used to liberate electrons from a photocathode. The drift speeds of the electrons are measured using a 8.7\,cm long electrode in both the liquid and solid phase of xenon. In the liquid phase (163\,K), the drift speed is 0.193 $\pm$ 0.003 cm/$\mu$s while the drift speed in the solid phase (157\,K) is 0.397 $\pm$ 0.006 cm/$\mu$s at 900 V/cm over 8.0\,cm of uniform electric fields. Therefore, it is demonstrated that a factor two faster electron drift speed in solid phase xenon compared to that in liquid in a large scale solid xenon.