Construction and On-site Performance of the LHAASO WFCTA Camera

Abstract

The focal plane camera is the core component of the Wide Field-of-view Cherenkov/fluorescence Telescope Array (WFCTA) of the Large High-Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO). Because of the capability of working under moonlight without aging, silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) have been proven to be not only an alternative but also an improvement to conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMT) in this application. Eighteen SiPM-based cameras with square light funnels have been built for WFCTA. The telescopes have collected more than 100 million cosmic ray events and preliminary results indicate that these cameras are capable of working under moonlight. The characteristics of the light funnels and SiPMs pose challenges (e.g. dynamic range, dark count rate, assembly techniques). In this paper, we present the design features, manufacturing techniques and performances of these cameras. Finally, the test facilities, the test methods and results of SiPMs in the cameras are reported here.

arXiv comment45 pages, 21 figures, article

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• The ASTRI Mini-Array of Cherenkov Telescopes at the Observatorio del Teide
• Calibration of the Air Shower Energy Scale of the Water and Air Cherenkov Techniques in the LHAASO experiment
• Technological Novelties of Ground-Based Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Astrophysics with the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes
• Calibration of 122 SensL MicroFJ-60035 SiPMs and the reduction of optical crosstalk due to coupled light guides
• Analysis of the Gravitational Wave Background Using Gamma-Ray Pulsar Timing Arrays with Next-Generation Detectors
• Characterisation of the MUSIC ASIC for large-area silicon photomultipliers for gamma-ray astronomy
• Prospects for Observing the Microquasar SS 433 with the LACT Array