Development of top/bottom counting detectors for the CREAM experiment on the ISS

H. J. Hyun, T. Anderson, D. Angelaszek, J. B. Bae, S. J. Baek, M. Copley, S. Coutu, M. Gupta, J. H. Han, H. G. Huh, Y. S. Hwang, I. S. Jeong, D. H. Kah, K. H. Kang, H. J. Kim, K. C. Kim, K. Kwashnak, J. Lee, M. H. Lee, J. T. LinkL. Lutz, A. Malinin, J. W. Mitchell, S. Nutter, O. Ofoha, H. Park, I. H. Park, J. M. Park, P. Patterson, E. S. Seo, J. Wu, Y. S. Yoon

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) experiment is designed to measure the energy spectra from protons to iron, and thus study composition changes to understand the source and acceleration mechanisms of the high-energy cosmic rays. The instrument is planned for a launch in 2014 to the International Space Station (ISS). Two new detectors being developed for CREAM are the Top/Bottom Counting Detectors (TCD and BCD). They consist of 500 × 500 × 5 mm3 and 600 × 600 × 10 mm3 plastic scintillators, respectively, and light produced in each detector is read out with a 20 by 20 silicon photo-diode (PD) array. The TCD is located between the carbon target and the calorimeter, and the BCD is located below the calorimeter. The T/BCD configuration provides the capability for electron separation from protons, a redundant energy trigger for the calorimeter, and a cosmic-ray trigger for test and calibration on the ground. Scintillation light is produced when particles pass through the scintillators, and a PD pulse is amplified by VLSI charge amp/hold circuits. The VA-TA analog ASIC chip is used for the front-end readout electronics. The VA ASIC chip contains 32 channels each with a charge sensitive preamplifier-shaper circuit with high dynamic range, sample and hold, multiplexed analog readout, and calibration functions. The TA ASIC chip contains 32 channels of low power fast triggers. The trigger from each channel is ORed to a common trigger output. Energy information in two dimensions from the segmented PDs above and below the calorimeter provides a means to distinguish between electrons and protons. The design, construction and performance of T/BCD are presented.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
PublisherSociedade Brasileira de Fisica
ISBN (Electronic)9788589064293
StatePublished - 2013
Event33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Duration: 2 Jul 20139 Jul 2013

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
Volume2013-October

Conference

Conference33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
Country/TerritoryBrazil
CityRio de Janeiro
Period2/07/139/07/13

Keywords

  • CREAM
  • E/p separation
  • Photo-diode
  • Plastic scintillator

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