Exotic radiation imaging with holes & bubbles in noble liquids


  Eran Erdal [1]  ,  Andrea Tesi [1]  ,  David Vartsky [1]  ,  Shikma Bressler [1]  ,  Lior Arazi [2]  ,  Amos Breskin [1]  
[1] 1 Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
[2] 2 Nuclear Engineering Unit, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 1084548, Israel

A recent concept was proposed and investigated for the combined detection of radiation-induced ionization electrons and primary scintillation photons in noble liquids. This so-called bubble-assisted Liquid Hole-Multiplier (LHM) consists of a thin perforated electrode (GEM or THGEM), immersed in the liquid - with a stable bubble of the noble gas trapped underneath; the electrode’s top surface is optionally coated with a CsI UV-sensitive photocathode. Ionization electrons, and UV-induced photoelectrons from the CsI surface are collected into the holes and cross the liquid-gas interface into the bubble; they induce respective electroluminescence in the bubble, of which the photons (~400/e/4p) are detected by a SiPM array. We will present the new concept, the LHM-SiPM performances in liquid xenon and discuss potential applications.