Prototype tests and pilot experiments for the R3B scintillator-based detection systems

Abstract

Understanding atomic nuclei is still an unaccomplished task and radioactive ion beam experiments aim at achieving this. Complex detector systems are the essential tool of such experiments and determine what kind of data can be collected and their quality. The LAND-setup at the heavy ion research facility GSI is designed for experiments with exotic nuclei. Developing GSI into the larger facility FAIR, the LAND-setup of GSI will become the R3B (Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) setup. This means explicitly that new detectors and a new magnet are being designed and built. Experiments with the present setup thus serve not only for physics research but also for prototype testing, giving clues how detectors need to be improved. This thesis takes a close look at the calibration of the and proton detector, Crystal Ball, of the LAND-setup. Three effciency calibration methods are automated and tested. It is clearly identified which method should be used for the analysis of the present experiments. Furthermore, methods which will be applicable to the new, highly granular and proton detector for R3B, are identified for different scenarios. As a second part of this work an option for the read-out system of the planned neutron detector consisting of plastic scintillator paddles has been tested. This is read-out by Multi-Pixel-Photon-Counters, MPPCs, which are solid state photomultipliers. These are expected to have very good timing and photon-counting ability while being much cheaper than PM-tubes. The two proposed realizations of the preamplifier circuit for the MPPC did not work as expected; probably because the preamplifier specified is too slow.