PICOSEC Micromegas precise-timing detectors: development towards large-area application and integration

Meng Y, Aleksan R, Angelis Y, Bortfeldt J, Brunbauer F, Brunoldi M, Chatzianagnostou E, Datta J, Degmelt K, Fanourakis G, Fiorina D, Floethner KJ, Gallinaro M, Garcia F, Giomataris I, Gnanvo K, Iguaz FJ, Janssens D, Kallitsopoulou A, Kovacic M, Kross B, Legou P, Li Z, Lisowska M, Liu J, Ma Y, Maniatis I, McKisson J, Muller H, Oliveri E, Orlandini G, Pandey A, Papaevangelou T, Pomorski M, Ropolewski L, Sampsonidis D, Scharenberg L, Schneider T, Sohl L, van Stenis M, Tsipolitis Y, Tzamarias SE, Utrobicic A, Vai I, Veenhof R, Vitulo P, Wang X, White S, Xi W, Zhang Z, Zhao L, Zhou Y (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Book Volume: 20

Article Number: C03015

Journal Issue: 3

DOI: 10.1088/1748-0221/20/03/C03015

Abstract

PICOSEC Micromegas (MM) is a precise timing gaseous detector based on a Cherenkov radiator coupled with a semi-transparent photocathode and an MM amplifying structure. The detector concept was successfully demonstrated through a single-channel prototype, achieving sub-25 ps time resolution with Minimum Ionizing Particles (MIPs). A series of studies followed, aimed at developing robust, large-area, and scalable detectors with high time resolution, complemented by specialized fast-response readout electronics. This work presents recent advancements towards large-area resistive PICOSEC MM, including 10 × 10 cm² area prototypes and a 20 × 20 cm² prototype, which features the jointing of four photocathodes. The time resolution of these detector prototypes was tested during the test beam, achieved a timing performance of around 25 ps for individual pads in MIPs. Meanwhile, customized electronics have been developed dedicated to the high-precision time measurement of the large-area PICOSEC MM. The performance of the entire system was evaluated during the test beam, demonstrating its capability for large-area integration. These advancements highlight the potential of PICOSEC MM to meet the stringent requirements of future particle physics experiments.

Involved external institutions

Europäische Organisation für Kernforschung (CERN) Switzerland (CH) Università degli Studi di Pavia Italy (IT) Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece (GR) State University of New York at Albany (UNY Albany / UAlbany) United States (USA) (US) Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility United States (USA) (US) Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) / 中国科学院高能物理研究所 China (CN) Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe / Institut de recherche sur les lois fondamentales de l'univers (IRFU) France (FR) National Technical University of Athens / Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο Greece (GR) Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas (LIP) Portugal (PT) Helsinki Institute of Physics Finland (FI) University of Zagreb / Sveučilište u Zagrebu Croatia (HR) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Germany (DE) CEA-LIST: Laboratory for Integration of Systems and Technology France (FR) Rudjer Boskovic Institute (RBI) / Institut Ruđer Bošković (IRB) Croatia (HR)

How to cite

APA:

Meng, Y., Aleksan, R., Angelis, Y., Bortfeldt, J., Brunbauer, F., Brunoldi, M.,... Zhou, Y. (2025). PICOSEC Micromegas precise-timing detectors: development towards large-area application and integration. Journal of Instrumentation, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/20/03/C03015

MLA:

Meng, Y., et al. "PICOSEC Micromegas precise-timing detectors: development towards large-area application and integration." Journal of Instrumentation 20.3 (2025).

BibTeX: Download