Magnetically-coupled piston pump for high-purity gas applications

Abstract

Experiments based on noble elements such as gaseous or liquid argon or xenon utilize the ionization and scintillation properties of the target materials to detect radiation-induced recoils. A requirement for high light and charge yields is to reduce electronegative impurities well below the ppb level. To achieve this, the target material is continuously circulated in the gas phase through a purifier and returned to the detector. Additionally, the low backgrounds necessary dictate low-Rn-emanation rates from all components that contact the gas. Since commercial pumps often introduce electronegative impurities from lubricants on internal components or through small air leaks, and are not designed to meet the radiopurity requirements, custom-built pumps are an advantageous alternative. A new pump has been developed in Muenster in cooperation with the nEXO group at Stanford University and the nEXO/XENON group at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute based on a magnetically-coupled piston in a hermetically sealed low-Rn-emanating vessel. This pump delivers high performance for noble gases, reaching more than 210 standard liters per minute (slpm) with argon and more than 170 slpm with xenon while maintaining a compression of up to 1.9 bar, demonstrating its capability for noble gas detectors and other applications requiring high standards of gas purity.

arXiv comment11 pages, 18 figures

References in corpus (9)

• First Dark Matter Search Results from the XENON1T Experiment
• DarkSide-20k: A 20 Tonne Two-Phase LAr TPC for Direct Dark Matter Detection at LNGS
• Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay in ${}^{136}$Xe with EXO-200
• Liquid Xenon Detectors for Particle Physics and Astrophysics
• The XENON1T Dark Matter Experiment
• Sensitivity and discovery potential of the proposed nEXO experiment to neutrinoless double beta decay
• Material radioassay and selection for the XENON1T dark matter experiment
• A magnetically-driven piston pump for ultra-clean applications
• The LXeGRIT Compton Telescope Prototype: Current Status and Future Prospects

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Excess Electronic Recoil Events in XENON1T
• The XENONnT Dark Matter Experiment
• PandaX-xT: a Multi-ten-tonne Liquid Xenon Observatory at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory
• Double-Weak Decays of ${}^{124}$Xe and ${}^{136}$Xe in the XENON1T and XENONnT Experiments
• Direct Detection of Dark Matter -- APPEC Committee Report
• Design, construction and commissioning of a high-flow radon removal system for XENONnT
• ${}^{222}$Rn emanation measurements for the XENON1T experiment
• Ultra-sensitive radon assay using an electrostatic chamber in a recirculating system
• Electro-purification studies and first measurement of relative permittivity of TMBi
• Material radiopurity control in the XENONnT experiment
• A flexible test facility for liquid xenon detector development
• Ultra-clean radon-free four cylinder magnetically-coupled piston pump