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Va'vra, J

Publications and source records attributed to Va'vra, J.

A Detailed Study of FDIRC Prototype with Waveform Digitizing Electronics in Cosmic Ray Telescope Using 3D Tracks

We present a detailed study of a novel Cherenkov imaging detector called the Focusing DIRC (FDIRC) with waveform digitizing electronics. In this test study, the FDIRC prototype has been instrumented with seven Hamamatsu H-8500 MaPMTs. Waveforms from {approx}450 pixels are digitized with waveform sampling electronics based on the BLAB2 ASIC, operating at a sampling speed of {approx}2.5 GSa/s. The FDIRC prototype was tested in a large cosmic ray telescope (CRT) providing 3D muon tracks with {approx}1.5 mrad angular resolution and muon energy of E{sub muon} > 1.6 GeV. In this study we provide a detailed analysis of the tails in the Cherenkov angle distribution as a function of various variables, compare experimental results with simulation, and identify the major contributions to the tails. We demonstrate that to see the full impact of these tails on the Cherenkov angle resolution, it is crucial to use 3D tracks, and have a full understanding of the role of ambiguities. These issues could not be fully explored in previous FDIRC studies where the beam was perpendicular to the quartz radiator bars. This work is relevant for the final FDIRC prototype of the PID detector at SuperB, which will be tested this year in the CRT setup.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

High Resolution Photon Timing with MCP-PMTs: A Comparison of a Commercial Constant Fraction Discriminator (CFD) with the ASIC-based Waveform Digitizers TARGET and WaveCatcher

There is a considerable interest to develop new time-of-flight detectors using, for example, micro-channel-plate photodetectors (MCP-PMTs). The question we pose in this paper is if new waveform digitizer ASICs, such as the WaveCatcher and TARGET, operating with a sampling rate of 2-3 GSa/s can compete with 1GHz BW CFD/TDC/ADC electronics. We have performed a series of measurements with these waveform digitizers coupled to MCP-PMTs operating at low gain and with a signal equivalent to {approx}40 photoelectrons. The tests were done with a laser diode on detectors operating under the same condition used previously in SLAC and Fermilab beam tests. Our test results indicate that one can achieve similar resolution with both methods. Although the commercial CFD-based electronics does exist and performs very well, it is difficult to implement on a very large scale, and therefore the custom electronics is needed. In addition, the analog delay line requirement makes it very difficult to incorporate CFD discriminators in ASIC designs.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

FDIRC design for SuperB

We describe a new design of a focusing DIRC (FDIRC) for the barrel PID at SuperB. The new FDIRC will use a new detector camera attached to the existing BaBar DIRC bar boxes. The camera's double-folded optics, made of solid fused silica, uses two mirrors, one cylindrical, and one flat. The camera's volume is 25-times smaller than the BaBar DIRC stand-off box, and its photon detectors will be 10-times faster than the BaBar DIRC PMTs, ensuring a good protection against backgrounds at SuperB, which is designed to operate at {approx}100-times higher luminosity than BaBar. The detector plane consists of a matrix of H-8500 MaPMTs.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗