Impact of geometry on light collection efficiency of scintillation detectors for cryogenic rare event searches

Abstract

Simulations of photon propagation in scintillation detectors were performed with the aim to find the optimal scintillator geometry, surface treatment, and shape of external reflector in order to achieve maximum light collection efficiency for detector configurations that avoid direct optical coupling, a situation that is commonly found in cryogenic scintillating bolometers in experimental searches for double beta decay and dark matter. To evaluate the light collection efficiency of various geometrical configurations we used the ZEMAX ray-tracing software. It was found that scintillators in the shape of a triangular prism with an external mirror shaped as truncated cone gives the highest light collection efficiency. The results of the simulations were confirmed by carrying out measurements of the light collection efficiencies of CaWO4 crystal scintillators. A comparison of simulated and measured values of light output shows good agreement

References in corpus (8)

• Results from 730 kg days of the CRESST-II Dark Matter Search
• Potential of a next generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiment based on ZnMoO4 scintillating bolometers
• Extending the CRESST-II commissioning run limits to lower masses
• Pulse-shape discrimination with PbWO${}_4$ crystal scintillators
• Rejection of randomly coinciding events in ZnMoO${}_4$ scintillating bolometers
• Discrimination of Recoil Backgrounds in Scintillating Calorimeters
• Optimization of light collection from crystal scintillators for cryogenic experiments
• Application of the Monte-Carlo refractive index matching (MCRIM) technique to the determination of the absolute light yield of a calcium molybdate scintillator

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Development of ${}^{100}$Mo-containing scintillating bolometers for a high-sensitivity neutrinoless double-beta decay search
• Low background techniques in bolometers for double-beta decay search
• Radiopure tungstate and molybdate crystal scintillators for double beta decay experiments
• Cryogenic phonon-scintillation detectors with PMT readout for rare event search experiments
• Characterization and Optimization of a Cryogenic Pure CsI Detector with Remarkable Light Yield and Unprecedented Energy Resolution for CLOVERS Experiment