Studies of time resolution, light yield, and crosstalk using SiPM-on-tile calorimetry for the future Electron-Ion Collider

TL;DR

This paper characterizes a high-granularity SiPM-on-tile calorimeter for the Electron-Ion Collider, focusing on light yield, crosstalk, and timing, and compares two optical isolation methods.

Contribution

It provides detailed measurements of calorimeter components and introduces an effective optical isolation approach using 3D-printed frames.

Findings

Optical crosstalk is negligible with 3D-printed frames.

Timing resolution and light yield are suitable for EIC applications.

3D-printed frames simplify assembly and improve performance.

Abstract

We recently proposed a high-granularity calorimeter insert for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) that is based on plastic scintillator tiles readout with silicon photomultipliers. In this work, we concretize its design by characterizing its building blocks with measurements of light yield, optical crosstalk, and timing resolutions using cosmic-rays, an LED, and a beta source. We also compared two approaches for the optical isolation of cells: ``megatiles'' with grooved boundaries between cells, and a 3D-printed plastic frame hosting individual cells. We found that the latter suppresses optical crosstalk to negligible levels while providing an easier assembly method. Overall, these performance studies can help inform calorimeter design and realistic simulations of 5D showers (time, energy, position) for the EIC and other experiments.