Particle Detectors: Fundamentals and Applications

957 Pages·2020·25.61 MB·English

by  Hermann Kolanoski, Norbert Wermes

Particle Detectors

Particle Detectors
Fundamentals and Applications
Hermann Kolanoski
Norbert Wermes
1
1
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Translation from the German language edition: Teilchendetektoren - Grundlagen
und Anwendungen by Hermann Kolanoski and Norbert Wermes. Copyright
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Preface
New ideas and concepts in the development of particle detectors have often been the
prerequisites for important experiments that led to discoveries or new perceptions in
particle and astroparticle physics. Therefore the physical principles and techniques
of detector development belong to the basic skills of an experimental physicist in
this field. Often novel detector developments also pave the way for advancements in
imaging methods using particles or radiation, for example, in medicine, biology or
material science.
Thephysicsofdetectorsinterrelatestomanyotherareasofphysicsandengineering.
Developing and operating detectors requires knowledge of the interactions of particles
with matter, of the physics of gases, liquids and solids, of the phenomena of charge
transport and the formation of signals as well as of the techniques of electronic signal
processing and microelectronics.
The idea for this book originated within the framework of a transregional edu-
cational project on the subject of detector physics, funded by the German ‘Federal
Ministry of Education and Research’, in which the authors participated. The central
elements of the project were lecture series and accompanying manuscripts on detector
physics which became the seeds for this book. A German edition was published in
2016 [623]. Major parts have, however, been substantially revised and enlarged.
Originally conceived as a lecture book for advanced undergraduate and graduate
students, the book evolved over the years with regard to content and depth of the
treated material such that the content now goes beyond that of typical lectures on
this topic. The target group for the book are both students who want to get an
introduction or wish to deepen their knowledge on the subject as well as lecturers
and researchers who want to extend their expertise. In addition, numerous tables and
comparativesynopsesshouldserveasareferenceforscientificwork.Wehavemadean
effort, and hope to have succeeded, to treat the available abundant material on the
various subjects as clearly as possible and as deeply as necessary.
At this point, we want to thank the many colleagues, co-workers and students
who in one way or another contributed to the completion of this book. For support
in producing the numerous figures we thank David Barney, Axel Hagedorn, Christine
Iezzi, Jens Janssen, Manuel Koch, Edgar Kraft, Susann Niedworok, Philip Pütsch,
Ludwig Rauch, Marco Vogt and Bert Wiegers. For the simulation of reaction events,
cross checks of analytical formulae by simulations, and for assistance with using the
GEANT4 program package we thank Timo Karg, Sven Menke, David-Leon Pohl and
Yannick Dieter. For numerous discussions, information and/or proofreading of sin-
gle chapters we want to thank Markus Ackermann, Peter Fischer, Eckhart Fretwurst,
Fabian Hügging, Fabian Kislat, Hans Krüger, Teresa Marrodán Undagoitia, Peter
Lewis, Michael Moll, Rainer Richter, Ludwig Rauch, Jochen Schwiening and Peter
Wegner as well as Ted Masselink for enlightening discussions on the topic of charge
transport in solids. We are grateful to Sabine Baer for the support in obtaining copy-
rights and to Martin Köhler for advice in questions concerning the publication of a
vi Preface
book.FortheEnglisheditionweobtainedinformationandhelpinlanguagequestions
from Summer Blot, Ian Brock, John Kelly, Jakob van Santen and Andrew Taylor.
For the support during the genesis and the realisation of this book we thank the
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Helmholtz Research
Centre Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY).
Inparticular,wewouldliketodeeplythankourwives,MarionandSonja,fortheir
continuous support for our work on the book over almost two decades.
Hermann Kolanoski and Norbert Wermes
Berlin and Bonn, March 2020
1
Introduction
The visual perception of objects is due to the fact that light, or more generally speak-
ing electromagnetic radiation, interacts with matter. The light is first scattered at
the object, is then absorbed in the eye and subsequently transformed into neural
signalswhicharefurtherprocessedbythebrainwhichfinallygeneratestheobjectim-
age perceived by us. The detection of elementary particles, nuclei and high-energetic
electromagnetic radiation, in this book commonly designated as ‘particles’, proceeds
similarly through interactions of the particles with matter. In general, though, we do
not directly perceive particles with our sense organs. Instead we need an external ‘de-
tector’ in which the particles interact and which derives perceptible signals from the
interaction.
The electromagnetic interaction of particles with matter is by far most frequently
employed for detection. Charged particles are detected through the ionisation of the
matteralongtheirtrajectoryoralsothroughemissionofelectromagneticradiationlike
bremsstrahlungorCherenkovandtransitionradiation.Photonsandelectronsdevelop
electromagnetic showers in matter which can be used for energy measurement. The
strong interaction is exploited, for example, for the detection of neutrons or for the
energy determination of high energetic hadrons through the development of hadronic
showers. Finally, the weak interaction is exploited for the detection of neutrinos.
Depending on the application, particle detectors have to fulfil different tasks with
quite different requirements. A simple example is the measurement of the radiation
flux with a Geiger counter for the detection of radioactivity. In particle physics ex-
perimentsoneusuallywantstomeasureinadditiontheparticlekinematics(direction,
momentum, energy) and preferably also determine the identity of a detected particle.
Therequirementsontheperformanceofparticledetectors,whicharecloselyrelated
to the costs, vary over a wide range. For the specification of a detector the following
criteria come into consideration depending on the intended application purpose:
– high detection probability;
– small perturbation of the process to be measured;
– high signal-to-background ratio;
– good resolution (position, time, energy, momentum, angle, ...);
– fast, deadtime-free electronic signal processing;
– simple online monitoring and control;
– justifiable costs.
The development of detectors and detection methods for particles was mainly
drivenbyapplicationsinbasicresearch,asinparticleandnuclearphysics.Theprogress
in these fields crucially depends on the state of the detector technology. This has
also been recognised by the Nobel Committee which repeatedly awarded the Nobel
Prize for decisive breakthroughs in detection methods, such as the cloud chamber:
Particle Detectors: Fundamentals and Applications. Hermann Kolanoski and Norbert Wermes. © Hermann
Kolanoski and Norbert Wermes 2020. Published in 2020 by Oxford University Press
2 Chapter 1: Introduction
C.T.R.Wilson1927,theadvancementsofthecloudchambermethod:P.Blackett1948,
nuclearemulsions:C.F.Powell1950,thecoincidencemethod:W.Bothe1958,thebub-
ble chamber: D.A.Glaser 1960 and the multiwire proportional chamber: G.Charpak,
1992.Besidestheuseofdetectorsinparticle,nuclearandastroparticlephysics,thereis
meanwhile a variety of detector applications in other fields, for example, in medicine,
geology, archaeology and material science. The detector sizes vary between a cubic-
centimetre, for example, of a dosimeter in the format of a ball-point pen, and cubic-
kilometre detectors for the detection of air showers initiated by cosmic rays.
Besides referencing the original literature we have made an effort to also point
to literature for further reading, lecture books and compact reviews of the respec-
tive fields. Comprehensive introductions into the subject of detectors are the books
by Kleinknecht [611] and Grupen and Shwartz [488]. The books by Knoll [615] and
Leo [651] are particularly suited to learn about the classical methods of construction
and operation of detectors. The applications in modern particle physics experiments
are covered, for example, in the books by Leroy and Rancoita [652] and Green [472].
Expert articles related to the different chapters of this book can be found in various
collections, for example, the ones issued by Ferbel [396] or by Sauli [849]. A com-
prehensive collection of many detection methods are the two volumes ‘Handbook of
particle detection and imaging’ edited by Grupen and Buvat [487].
This book originates from lectures which the authors gave repeatedly for the speciali-
sationsin‘ExperimentalParticlePhysics’and‘AstroparticlePhysics’attheHumboldt
UniversityinBerlinandattheFriedrich-WilhelmsUniversityinBonn.Thevolumeof
this book, however, has evolved far beyond what can be presented in such a lecture
comprising typically two hours per week for one semester. However, the book should
be well suited as a basis for such a lecture, for going more deeply into the subject
matter and for getting prepared for instrumental work in particle and astroparticle
physics as well as in many fields which are addressed in section 2.4.
Besides the introductory and overview chapters (chapters 1 and 2), the book is
divided into five subject areas:
– fundamentals (chapters 3 to 5),
– detection of charged tracks (chapters 6 to 9),
– phenomena and methods mainly for particle identification (chapters 10 to 14),
– energymeasurement(acceleratorandnon-acceleratorexperiments)(chapters15and
16),
– electronics and data acquisition (chapters 17 and 18).
Comprehensivelistsofliterature,keywordsandabbreviationscanbefoundattheend
of the book.
2
Overview, history and concepts
2.1 On the history of detectors 3
2.2 Detectors at accelerators 10
2.3 Detectors in astroparticle physics 17
2.4 Other detector applications 19
2.5 Units and conventions 19
2.6 Content overview 22
2.1 On the history of detectors
Progressinnuclearandparticlephysicsisbasedonthedevelopmentofdetectorswith
whichparticlesandradiationcanbedetectedandtheirpropertiescanbemeasured(see
table2.1).ThediscoveryofradioactivitybyH.Becquerelin1896marksthebeginning:
Becquerelconcludedfromtheobservationofblackeningofaphotographicplate,which
he kept in the dark close to a sample of uranium salt, that radiation is coming from
the uranium, a phenomenon which was later called radioactivity. Such an integral
measurement of radiation (in contrast to the detection of single quanta or particles)
wasalsothebasisforthediscoveryofcosmicradiationbyV.Hessin1912(NobelPrize
1936 [519]). During a balloon flight he observed the discharge of an electrometer with
increasing altitude which he interpreted as being due to ionising radiation originating
from outer space (chapter 16).
In contrast to this indirect evidence for radiation it is important for basic research
that particles are individually measured with as many details about their properties
andkinematicsaspossible.Around1900,photographicplatesandscintillatingcoatings
of screens became the first detectors for the newly discovered radiation—besides the
α,β andγ radiationfromnuclei,alsoforcathoderays(electronbeams)andX-rays.In
scatteringexperimentswithαparticles,Rutherford,GeigerandMarsdendetectedthe
scatteredparticlesonascintillatingzincsulfidescreen(ZnS)therebydeterminingtheir
scatteringangle[840,452].Figure2.1showstheapparatuswithwhichthescintillation
flashes on the screen were recorded by eye using a microscope [452].
Also, the photoemulsion technique has been refined further so that the kinematics
ofsingleparticlesofcosmicradiationcouldbereconstructedbyanalysingphotographic
pictures (see section 6.3). Using this method, C.F.Powell and co-workers discovered
thepionin1947(seefig.16.2).TheNobelPrizeinPhysics1950wasawardedtoPowell
‘forhisdevelopmentofthephotographicmethodofstudyingnuclearprocessesandhis
discoveries regarding mesons made with this method’ [792].
For the electrical recording of single particles H.Geiger developed tubes based
on the principle of gas amplification of the ionisation charge in strong electric fields
(H.Geiger 1908 [841]). The strong field is obtained by a high voltage applied between
Particle Detectors: Fundamentals and Applications. Hermann Kolanoski and Norbert Wermes. © Hermann
Kolanoski and Norbert Wermes 2020. Published in 2020 by Oxford University Press
4 Chapter 2: Overview, history and concepts
Table 2.1 Somebreakthroughsinthehistoryofdetectordevelopment.Sinceforsuchdevel-
opments precise time specifications are often not possible the specifications of years in the
first column are given for orientation only. The assignment of discoveries to persons is also
sometimesarbitrary.Forexample,theprincipleofgasamplification,whichishereassociated
with the name of Geiger, was essential for the works on the classification of the radioactive
radiationforwhichRutherfordreceivedtheNobelPrizeinchemistryin1908.Somedetector
principles, like gas amplification, coincidence method and wire chambers, have been so fun-
damental that it is not possible to link them to specific discoveries. In more recent times it
became also increasingly difficult to associate detector developments with single individuals,
asforexampleinthecaseofmicrostripdetectorswithwhichimportantdiscoveriesinvolving
heavy fermions were made.
Year Name Detector principle Discovery Nobel Prize
1896 H. Becquerel photographic plate radioactivity 1903
1908 H. Geiger gas amplification
1911 E. Rutherford scintillation screen atomic nucleus
1912 C.T.R. Wilson cloud chamber many new particles 1927
1912 V. Hess electrometer cosmic rays 1936
1924 W. Bothe coincidence method 1954
1933 P. Blackett triggered cloud chamber e+e− pairs 1948
1934 P.A. Cherenkov Cherenkov radiation ν oscillation 1958
1947 C.F. Powell photoemulsion pion 1950
1953 D.A. Glaser bubble chamber Ω−, neutral currents 1960
1968 G. Charpak multiwire prop. chamber 1992
1980 Si microstrip detector BB oscillation
Fig.2.1 Apparatusfortheobservationofthe
scatteringofαparticlesoffagoldfoil(Rutherford
scattering)asdescribedin[452].AnαsourceR
radiatesthroughathindiaphragmDontothefoil
F.Thescatteredparticlesareobservedonascreen
usingamicroscopewhoseobjectivecarriesasmall
scintillationscreenS.Themicroscopeisrigidly
connectedtotheboxBwhichisclosedbytheplate
PandevacuatedthroughthetubeT.Thescattering
angleissetbyturningtheboxwiththemicroscope
relativelytofoilandsource(thebaseplateAturns
inthemountCfixedtothebaseplateL).Reprint
from[452],withkindpermissionofTaylor&Francis
Ltd.
the wall of a cylinder (cathode) and a thin wire (anode) which is strung along the
cylinderaxis,seesection7.2.2.Gasamplificationbysecondaryionisationleadingtothe
developmentofavalanchesingases[941,942]hadalreadybeenstudiedbyJ.Townsend
since about 1900 (see references in [841]). These developments led to the radiation
monitor known as the Geiger–Müller tube [453] (often just called ‘Geiger counter’, in
particularwhenreferringtotheready-to-useinstrument)andlatertothe‘proportional
counter’ which employs also gas amplification but in a more modest operation mode