Optimization of WLS fiber readout for the HERD calorimeter

TL;DR

This study optimizes the surface finish and encapsulation of LYSO cubes in the HERD calorimeter to enhance WLS fiber signal amplitude and energy resolution, improving detector performance for cosmic ray measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel surface treatment approach for LYSO cubes that significantly increases signal amplitude and improves energy resolution in the HERD calorimeter.

Findings

Rough surface finish with a specular reflector increases amplitude by 44%.

Rough-bottom LYSO cubes show superior energy resolution for electrons.

Surface treatment impacts signal uniformity and detector performance.

Abstract

A novel 3-D calorimeter, composed of about 7500 LYSO cubes, is the key and crucial detector of the High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection (HERD) facility to be installed onboard the China Space Station. Energy deposition from cosmic ray in each LYSO cube is translated by multiple wavelength shifting (WLS) fibers for multi-range data acquisition and real-time triggering. In this study, various methods of surface finish and encapsulation of the LYSO cube were investigated to optimize the amplitude from the WLS fiber end with the aim of improving the signal-to-noise ratio of Intensified scientific CMOS (IsCMOS) collection. The LYSO cube with five rough surfaces and a specular reflector achieves the maximum amplitude at the low-range fiber end, which is increased by roughly 44% compared to the polished cube with PTFE wrapping. The non-uniformity of amplitude at different positions on the LYSO cube surface was measured by X-ray and the positional correlation factor was derived for the entire cube. A simulation based on HERD CALO was conducted, which revealed that both the LYSO cube with five rough surfaces and the cube with rough bottom face exhibit superior energy resolution for electrons compared to the other two configurations.