Performance of the front-end electronics of the ANTARES neutrino telescope Al Samarai, I.; Albert, A.; Anghinolfi, M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/2010, Letnik:
622, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
ANTARES is a high-energy neutrino telescope installed in the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of 2475m. It consists of a three-dimensional array of optical modules, each containing a large ...photomultiplier tube. A total of 2700 front-end ASICs named analogue ring samplers (ARS) process the phototube signals, measure their arrival time, amplitude and shape as well as perform monitoring and calibration tasks. The ARS chip processes the analogue signals from the optical modules and converts information into digital data. All the information is transmitted to shore through further multiplexing electronics and an optical link. This paper describes the performance of the ARS chip; results from the functionality and characterization tests in the laboratory are summarized and the long-term performance in the apparatus is illustrated.
The KM3NeT Collaboration is currently constructing a multi-site high-energy neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea consisting of matrices of pressure-resistant glass spheres, each holding a set ...of 31 small-area photomultipliers. The main goals of the telescope are the observation of neutrino sources in the Universe and the measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameters with atmospheric neutrinos. Both extraterrestrial and atmospheric neutrinos are detected through the Cherenkov light induced in seawater by charged particles produced in neutrino interactions in the surrounding medium. A relative time synchronization between photomultipliers of the order of 1 ns is needed to guarantee the required angular resolution of the detector. Due to the large detector volumes to be instrumented by KM3NeT, a cost reduction of the different systems is a priority. To this end, the inexpensive Nanobeacon has been designed and developed by the KM3NeT Collaboration to be used for detector time-calibration studies. At present, more than 600 Nanobeacons have been already produced. The characterization of the optical pulse and the wavelength emission profile of the devices are critical for the time calibration. In this paper, the main features of the Nanobeacon design, production and operation, together with the main properties of the light pulse generated are described.
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