Design and Evaluation of a PMT High-Voltage system for Deepsea Neutrino Telescope

TL;DR

This paper details the design and testing of a high-voltage system for deep-sea neutrino telescopes, ensuring stable PMT operation with precise timing in harsh environments.

Contribution

It introduces a Cockcroft-Walton HV system for multiple PMTs, demonstrating stable operation and uniform gain calibration in simulated deep-sea conditions.

Findings

Low and stable electronic noise levels.

All PMTs calibrated to a common gain and stable over days.

Transit-time-spread below 1.8 ns, meeting specifications.

Abstract

We present the design and characterization of a Cockcroft--Walton (CW) high-voltage (HV) system developed for deep-sea neutrino telescopes. The system provides independently adjustable bias voltages for 31 three-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) housed in a hybrid Digital Optical Module (hDOM). We describe the system architecture, control logic, and laboratory test procedures, and report the combined PMT--base performance in terms of baseline stability, gain uniformity, and timing accuracy under conditions designed to emulate the deep-sea environment. Baseline measurements show low and stable electronic noise. Gain calibrations based on single-photoelectron spectra demonstrate that all PMTs can be tuned to a common nominal gain and remain stable over multi-day operation. Transit-time-spread measurements yield values below 1.8~ns (FWHM), consistent with manufacturer specifications. These results indicate that the CW-based HV system provides the stability and timing precision required for deep-sea multi-PMT optical modules.