Performance degradation of Geiger-mode APDs at cryogenic temperatures

Abstract

Two-phase Cryogenic Avalanche Detectors (CRADs) with THGEM multipliers, optically read out with Geiger-mode APDs (GAPDs), were proposed as potential technique for charge recording in rare-event experiments. In this work we report on the degradation of the GAPD performance at cryogenic temperatures revealed in the course of the study of two-phase CRAD in Ar, with combined THGEM/GAPD-matrix multiplier; the GAPDs recorded secondary scintillation photons from the THGEM holes in the Near Infrared. The degradation effect, namely the loss of the GAPD pulse amplitude, depended on the incident X-ray photon flux. The critical counting rate of photoelectrons produced at the 4.4 mm2 GAPD, degrading its performance at 87 K, was estimated as 10000 per second. This effect was shown to result from the considerable increase of the pixel quenching resistor of this CPTA-made GAPD type. Though not affecting low-rate rare-event experiments, the observed effect may impose some limitations on the performance of CRADs with GAPD-based optical readout at higher-rate applications.

11 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to JINST

References in corpus (6)

• A concise review on THGEM detectors
• Liquid noble gas detectors for low energy particle physics
• Optical readout tracking detector concept using secondary scintillation from liquid argon generated by a thick gas electron multiplier
• Direct observation of avalanche scintillations in a THGEM-based two-phase Ar avalanche detector using Geiger-mode APD
• Electron emission properties of two-phase argon and argon-nitrogen avalanche detectors
• Geiger Mode APD performance in a cryogenic two-phase Ar avalanche detector based on THGEMs

Cited by in corpus (1)

• MPPC versus MRS APD in two-phase Cryogenic Avalanche Detectors