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Proto-0: a prototype for validating key technologies of the DarkSide-20k experiment and beyond

Riccardo de Asmundis, Roberta Calabrese, Mauro Caravati, Giuliana Fiorillo, Leandro Flores, Gianfrancesco Grauso, Giuseppe Matteucci, Noemi Pino, Dmitrii Rudik, Maria Adriana Sabia, Yury Suvorov

Abstract

The DarkSide-20k experiment, currently under construction at LNGS, will employ a next-generation dual-phase liquid-argon Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with SiPM-based Photon Detector Units and low-background materials to achieve the ambitious goal of operating with an instrumental background close to zero. Proto-0 is a small-scale dual-phase argon TPC operated at INFN Naples, designed to validate the integration of DarkSide-20k key technologies in a realistic detector environment and to study charge extraction and electroluminescence signal formation. In this short paper we report on the early operation of Proto-0 and its single-phase commissioning. We focus on the measurement of the scintillation light yield using external and internal calibration sources.

Proto-0: a prototype for validating key technologies of the DarkSide-20k experiment and beyond

Abstract

The DarkSide-20k experiment, currently under construction at LNGS, will employ a next-generation dual-phase liquid-argon Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with SiPM-based Photon Detector Units and low-background materials to achieve the ambitious goal of operating with an instrumental background close to zero. Proto-0 is a small-scale dual-phase argon TPC operated at INFN Naples, designed to validate the integration of DarkSide-20k key technologies in a realistic detector environment and to study charge extraction and electroluminescence signal formation. In this short paper we report on the early operation of Proto-0 and its single-phase commissioning. We focus on the measurement of the scintillation light yield using external and internal calibration sources.
Paper Structure (6 sections, 4 equations, 3 figures)

This paper contains 6 sections, 4 equations, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. The DarkSide-20k Experiment
  2. DarkSide Proto-0
  3. Detector, readout and data acquisition
  4. Photosensor characterization
  5. Single Phase Characterization
  6. Conclusions

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Section of the DarkSide-20k detector assembly. Inside the cryostat lies the inner detector, composed of the TPC and the inner veto system, which are contained within a stainless steel vessel filled with radiopure, underground-extracted argon. Atmospheric liquid argon is used instead in the main cryostat, which is also instrumented with photosensors to serve as muon veto.
  • Figure 2: (a) Picture of the fully assembled PDU, with a total surface of $20\times20$. The transparent cover is for protection during transport and handling. (b) Top view of a $5\times5$ SiPM tile module; 16 tiles are assembled together to form a PDU.
  • Figure 3: (a) Single phase (S1 only) spectrum in PE from a 16kBq [22]Na source at 7 overvoltage, acquired in coincidence with an external liquid-scintillator detector. The red curve shows a gaussian fit to the 511keV full-absorption feature. (b) Single phase (S1 only) spectrum in PE after [83m]Kr injection. The black histogram shows data, while the blue shaded histogram indicates background component used for subtraction. The inset shows the background-subtracted 41.5keV peak with a gaussian fit (red).