A method to stabilise the performance of negatively fed KM3NeT photomultipliers

The KM3NeT research infrastructure, currently under construction in the Mediterranean Sea, will host neutrino telescopes for the identification of neutrino sources in the Universe and for studies of the neutrino mass hierarchy. These telescopes will house hundreds of thousands of photomultiplier tub...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Adrian Martinez, Silvia, Ageron, M., Aiello, S, Albert, A., Ameli, F, Anassontzis, E.G., André, Michel|||0000-0002-0091-7279
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/102079
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/102079
https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/11/12/P12014
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Neutrinos
Neutrino astrophysics
Optical detectors
Detectors òptics
Partícules (Física nuclear)
Neutrins
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física
Descripción
Sumario:The KM3NeT research infrastructure, currently under construction in the Mediterranean Sea, will host neutrino telescopes for the identification of neutrino sources in the Universe and for studies of the neutrino mass hierarchy. These telescopes will house hundreds of thousands of photomultiplier tubes that will have to be operated in a stable and reliable fashion. In this context, the stability of the dark counts has been investigated for photomultiplier tubes with negative high voltage on the photocathode and held in insulating support structures made of 3D printed nylon material. Small gaps between the rigid support structure and the photomultiplier tubes in the presence of electric fields can lead to discharges that produce dark count rates that are highly variable. A solution was found by applying the same insulating varnish as used for the high voltage bases directly to the outside of the photomultiplier tubes. This transparent conformal coating provides a convenient and inexpensive method of insulation.