1. Spectrometer Timing Detector MRPC option
P. Fonte

2. Outlook timing RPCs in the world relevant experience of LIP
the RPC neutron TOF detector prototype

3. tRPCs in the world – ALICE@LHC
@ CERN/LHC
RPC

4. tRPCs in the world – STAR@RHIC

5. tRPCs in the world – (ex) FOPI@GSI

6. tRPCs in the world – HADES@GSI
[G.Kornakov, XII workshop on RPCs, 2014]

7. tRPCs in the world – BGOegg@LEPS2 (SPRING8)

8. tRPCs in the world – TOF endcap@BESIII

9. tRPCs in the world – future CBMTOF@FAIR

10. tRPCs in the world – future NICA@JINR

11. tRPCs in the world HARP@CERN (the first experiment to use tRPCs)

12. 4 x 0.3 mm gaps = 99.5 % for MIPs (75%/gap) First 50 ps tRPCs Aluminum
[ Fonte 2000] 3
Aluminum
Glass
-HV
Resolution of the reference counter
= % for MIPs
(75%/gap)
(optimum operating point  1% of discharges)

13. Active area = 10 cm160 cm = 0.16 m2 (400 cm2/electronic channel)
Large area counter
Active area = 10 cm160 cm = 0.16 m2 (400 cm2/electronic channel)
5 cm
4 timing
channels
1,6 m HV
Top view
Cross section
Ordinary 3 mm “window glass”
Copper
strips
[Blanco 2001]

14. Efficiency and time resolution
Large area counter
Efficiency and time resolution
93%
94%
95%
96%
97%
98%
99%
100%
-80
-70
-60
-50
-40
-30
-20
-10 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time efficiency
Strip A
Strip B
Strips A+B
 = 95 to 98 %
Center of the trigger region along the strips (cm)
[Blanco 2001] 40 50 60 70 80 90
100
-80
-70
-60
-50
-40
-30
-20
-10 10 20 30
Time resolution (ps )
 = 50 to 75 ps
Center of the trigger region along the strips (cm)
No degradation when the area/channel was doubled (800 cm2/channel)

15. HADES RPC TOF Wall

16. HADES Au-Au - Multiplicity and occupancy

17. 2 layers of individual cells with partial overlap
HADES - Design
rows
2 layers of individual cells
with partial overlap
187 cells/sector distributed in 29 rows and 6 columns, 3 on top and 3 on bottom
1122 cells total
124 different detectors with variable width, length and shape  no attempt at impedance matching

18. Heat-tolerant materials
HADES cells
0.27 mm  4 gaps
minimum for good efficiency
Aluminum and glass 2mm electrods
minimize amount of glass for maximum rate capability
try to keep good mechanics
Heat-tolerant materials
Fully shielded
Spring-loaded pressure plate
Aluminium
Glass
HV & readout in
the center

19. HADES Au-Au RPC time resolution

20. HADES PID plot
Sub-threshold produced K- clearly visible: robust multihit performance

21. Autonomous RPCs - Motivation
Cosmic ray experiments may benefit from robust ionizing particle detectors with large area, good segmentation and excellent position and timing characteristics: RPCs.
For instance…

22. Muon detection at ARGO-YBJ@TIBET, PRC
Bakelite, streamer-mode RPCs

23. Auger observatory Area ~3000 km2 telescope building “Los Leones”
LIDAR station
communication tower
Cerenkov tank
(1/1600) 23

24. Field experience@Malargüe – 1st MARTA station
2 RPC units

25. RPC & gas volume
1250 mm
1550 mm
1.8m2 active area

26. Construction details
- Signal-transparent and nice-looking acrylic box, 1mm thick covers
- Permanently glued
- RPC fits tightly inside
good electrode support mechanics
excellent HV insulation
excellent gas tightness
HV layer, also signal-transparent
3 RPC glasses (2mm soda-lime)
External pickup electrodes

27. Readout: 64 external pads (or something else)

28. La carrosserie en place
Cost estimate in mass production (3200m2): 1k€/m2
with slow electronics (MAROC chip)

29. Whereabouts
Few tens of chambers produced
Sucessfully installed in

30. The NEULAND RPC neutron TOF detector prototype
Symmetric MRPCs with
4 or 10 gaps
3 mm thick glass
(for neutrons to have something to interact with)
Not optimal for timing
[J.Mahado 2013]
Still in use today as a cosmic ray telescope

31. The NEULAND RPC neutron TOF detector prototype
[J.Mahado 2013]

32. The NEULAND RPC neutron TOF detector prototype
[J.Mahado 2013]

33. The HADES RPC Group The NEULAND RPC team Collaborators GSI D.Gonzalez
W.Koenig
M.Traxler
G. Kornakov
LIP
A.Blanco
N.Carolino
O.Cunha
P.Fonte
L.Lopes
A.Pereira
C.Silva
C.C.Sousa
USC
D.Belver
P.Cabanelas E.Castro J.A.Garzón M.Zapata
IFIC-Valencia
J.Diaz
A.Gil
The NEULAND RPC team
LIP
A.Blanco
N.Carolino
P.Fonte
L.Lopes
A.Pereira
Univ. Lisboa
D.Galaviz
A. Henriques
P. Teubig
P. Velho

34. The MARTA team @ AUGER Collaborators
CBPF - Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Brazil
FZU - Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
IFSC / USP - Instituto de Física de S. Carlos, Universidade de S. Paulo, Brazil
LIP - Laboratório de Instrumentação e Partículas, Portugal
UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil
UFRJ - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Universitá di Roma II, “Tor Vergata”, Italy
USC - Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

35. Summary
Timing RPCs were, are and will be used in many HEP experiments: the modern high-performance, large area TOF technology.
The low-cost environmentally friendly (low gas flow) RPC construction technology developed for remote standalone stations may be applied to the SHiP timing detector.
80 ps resolution already proven in large area prototypes, however not optimized for MIPs.
This may revolutionize costwise the construction of large, low-rate, low-multiplicity, TOF detectors, opening way for even larger TOF detectors.