Development of a Spark-Detection System for the Quality Assurance of Large-Area GEM-Foils

• Published in: Journal of physics. Conference series Vol. 1498; no. 1; pp. 12056 - 12063
• Main Authors: Ball, M, Block, T, Hauer, P, Ottnad, J, Urban, S, Ratza, V, Ketzer, B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.04.2020
• Subjects: Discharge; Foils; Gas detectors; Particle beams; Physics; Quality assurance; Quality control; Voltage stability; Webcams
• ISSN: 1742-6588; 1742-6596
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/1498/1/012056

Gaseous detectors based on large-size GEM-foils are planned to be used for a variety of upgrades and new experiments using high-rate and high-intensity particle beams. An excellent quality control of GEM-foils is a mandatory prerequisite to select the best foils for the assembly of a GEM detector. The high voltage stability of the foils is here of uppermost importance. In particular discharges that occur at the same position need to be detected. A spark detection system has been developed to automatically detect and record the time and position of sparks. The system is based on a commercial web camera installed in a housing for the tests and a custom-made, LabVIEW-based software for control and operation. An automatic Spark-Detection System for GEM foils was designed, built and characterized. It is able to detect and record discharges in large-size GEM foils during the quality control procedure. The spark detection e ciency was estimated to be higher than 97 %, the position resolution was determined to be approximately 0.5 mm. With this system, the characterization of GEM foils can be standardized to a much greater degree than before.