Radiation Hard & High Light Yield Scintillator Search for CMS Phase II Upgrade

TL;DR

This study evaluates radiation-hard, high light yield scintillator materials, including quartz with coatings, for CMS Phase II upgrade to withstand increased luminosity and radiation in the LHC environment.

Contribution

It introduces new composite scintillator materials and coating techniques tested for radiation hardness and light output, advancing detector upgrade options.

Findings

Quartz plates confirmed as radiation-hard Cerenkov radiators

Coatings like p-Terphenyl and Gallium-doped Zinc Oxide enhance light output

Test beam and laboratory results demonstrate promising performance

Abstract

The CMS detector at the LHC requires a major upgrade to cope with the higher instantaneous luminosity and the elevated radiation levels. The active media of the forward backing hadron calorimeters is projected to be radiation-hard, high light yield scintillation materials or similar alternatives. In this context, we have studied various radiation-hard scintillating materials such as Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN), High Efficiency Mirror (HEM) and quartz plates with various coatings. The quartz plates are pure Cerenkov radiators and their radiation hardness has been confirmed. In order to increase the light output, we considered organic and inorganic coating materials such as p-Terphenyl (pTp), Anthracene and Gallium-doped Zinc Oxide (ZnO:Ga) that are applied as thin layers on the surface of the quartz plates. Here, we present the results of the related test beam activities, laboratory measurements and recent developments.