The effect of temperature on the rate capability of glass timing RPCs

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2005.09.005

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment

Volume 555, Issues 1–2, 15 December 2005, Pages 72-79

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2005.09.005 Get rights and content

Abstract

In this study, we demonstrate a strong influence of the working temperature on the counting rate capability of large-area timing resistive plate chambers (RPCs) incorporating industrial flat glass electrodes. The effect relies on the sharp dependence of glass resistivity on temperature, approximately one order of magnitude for each 25 °C, allowing a considerable extension of the counting rate capability merely by a moderate warming of the detector.

The results confirm operation at 1.5 kHz/cm² for irradiation with gamma photons, and may be extrapolated to 6 kHz/cm² for the detection of minimum ionizing particles (MIPs) with a timing resolution below 100 ps σ.

Introduction

Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) with timing resolutions below 100 ps σ for minimum ionizing particles (MIPs) have been recently developed [1], [2]. This type of detector, operating at atmospheric pressure with non-flammable gases, seems well-suited for high-granularity time-of-flight (TOF) systems, providing performances comparable to the scintillator-based TOF technology but offering a significantly lower price per channel, compact mechanics and magnetic field compatibility.

In practice, the counting rate capability of RPCs is strongly dependent on the availability of suitable resistive electrode materials. For many applications, the extension of the rate capabilities achievable with industrial glass electrodes, around 2 kHz/cm² [3], to higher values is of fundamental importance. Although one may consider the use of materials with much lower resistivity [4], for large area applications this approach is of questionable feasibility.

To address this issue, in this study we present a practical way to lower the resistivity of large-area timing RPCs made with industrial flat glass electrodes by exploiting the strong temperature dependence of the resistivity of many common glasses, correspondingly increasing the RPC rate capability [5].

Section snippets

Resistivity of industrial flat glass

It is known (see for instance Ref. [6]) that the resistivity ρ of many non-metallic conductors depends on temperature following the Arrhenius law $\ln (ρ) = a + \frac{b}{T}$ which, for narrow temperature intervals, may be conveniently represented as $ρ ≃ ρ_{T_{0}} 1 0^{(T_{0} - T) / Δ T}$ where $Δ T$ is the temperature increase required for a resistivity decrease by one order of magnitude and, $ρ_{T_{0}}$ , the resistivity at the reference temperature $T_{0}$ .

A resistivity measurement of several glass types from common brands is shown in Table 1,

Experimental set-up

The tests were performed on one of the four-gap shielded timing RPCs of 2×60 cm² area, described in Refs. [7], [8]. The gas enclosure was equipped with several internal thermometers and inserted in an external heating sleeve controlled by a temperature stabilization system. An illustration of the set-up can be seen in Fig. 1.

The internal temperature differences, measured over the RPC aluminium shield, were generally smaller than 1 °C, assuring that, under static conditions, the temperature of the

Avalanche charge distribution

While for the detection of MIPs, four-gap timing RPCs show a reasonably peaked charge distribution ([2], for instance), the situation is quite different when these detectors are irradiated with γ photons. The detection takes place rather indirectly, via the detection of a secondary electron that is ejected into the gas gap from the electrodes after a photoelectric, Compton or pair-producing interaction of the primary photon with the electrode material. Avalanches will be initiated along the

Background counting rate

A sharp increase of the background (dark) counting rate has been observed when the temperature is increased above 54 °C, as shown in Fig. 8 (see also Ref. [12]). However, it is a common observation that when voltage is applied on a new counter, or the operating conditions drastically changed, frequently there is a temporary increase of the dark current that subsides afterwards (a process commonly known as “conditioning”) as is documented, for instance, in [13]. Therefore, the effect just

Conclusion

It was demonstrated in a large size timing RPC that a 25 °C temperature increase improves the count rate capability by one order of magnitude, extending the applicability of timing RPCs made with industrial flat glass to much larger counting rates merely by a moderate warming of the detector.

Reasonable extrapolation of results obtained in particle beams with the same counter at ambient temperature indicates that operation at 6 kHz/cm² may be feasible around 50 °C.

Naturally, further research is

Acknowledgements

This work was co-financed by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia projects CERN/FNU/43723/2001, POCTI/FP/FNU/50171/2003, FEDER, MCYT FPA2000-2041-C02-02, FPA2003-7581-C02-02, XUGA PGIDT-02-PXIC-20605-PN, the EU 6th Framework Program via contract RII3-CT-2003-506078 and the program INTAS 03-54-3891.

We benefited from the competent technical work of N. Carolino, N. Montes, A. Pereira and M. Zapata.

D. González-Díaz gratefully acknowledges the hospitality received at the University of

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The effect of temperature on the rate capability of glass timing RPCs

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Resistivity of industrial flat glass

Experimental set-up

Avalanche charge distribution

Background counting rate

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A

Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A

Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A

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Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A

Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A