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arXiv · 2408.10828

Scalable DAQ system operating the CHIPS-5 neutrino detector

Abstract

The CHIPS R&D project focuses on development of low-cost water Cherenkov neutrino detectors through novel design strategies and resourceful engineering. This work presents an end-to-end DAQ solution intended for a recent 5 kt CHIPS prototype, which is largely based on affordable mass-produced components. Much like the detector itself, the presented instrumentation is composed of modular arrays that can be scaled up and easily serviced. A single such array can carry up to 30 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) accompanied by electronics that generate high voltage in-situ and deliver time resolution of up to 0.69 ns. In addition, the technology is compatible with the White Rabbit timing system, which can synchronize its elements to within 100 ps. While deployment issues did not permit the presented DAQ system to operate beyond initial evaluation, the presented hardware and software successfully passed numerous commissioning tests that demonstrated their viability for use in a large-scale neutrino detector, instrumented with thousands of PMTs.

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Belén Alonso Rancurel, Son Cao, Thomas J. Carroll, Rhys Castellan, Erika Catano-Mur, John P. Cesar, João A. B. Coelho, Patrick Dills, Thomas Dodwell, Jack Edmondson, Daan van Eijk, Quinn Fetterly, Zoé Garbal, Stefano Germani, Thomas Gilpin, Anthony Giraudo, Alec Habig, Daniel Hanuska, Harry Hausner, Wilson Y. Hernandez, Anna Holin, Junting Huang, Sebastian B. Jones, Albrecht Karle, George Kileff, Kai R. Jenkins, Paul Kooijman, Arthur Kreymer, Gabe M. LaFond, Karol Lang, Jeffrey P. Lazar, Rui Li, Kexin Liu, David A. Loving, Petr Mánek, Marvin L. Marshak, Jerry R. Meier, William Miller, Jeffrey K. Nelson, Christopher Ng, Ryan J. Nichol, Vittorio Paolone, Andrew Perch, Maciej M. Pfützner, Alexander Radovic, Katherine Rawlins, Patrick Roedl, Lucas Rogers, Ibrahim Safa, Alexandre Sousa, Josh Tingey, Jennifer Thomas, Jozef Trokan-Tenorio, Patricia Vahle, Richard Wade, Christopher Wendt, Daniel Wendt, Leigh H. Whitehead, Samuel Wolcott, Tianlu Yuan. 2024-08-20. Scalable DAQ system operating the CHIPS-5 neutrino detector. https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.10828

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