Speaker
Description
High-Rate Picosecond Photodetectors (HRPPDs) are the latest generation microchannel plate (MCP)-based photodetectors offered by Incom Inc. They feature a large active area (104 mm × 104 mm) and a low profile (1.4 cm thick), up to $10^7$ gain (enabling single photon detection), sub-millimeter position resolution, and a timing resolution approaching a few tens of picoseconds. This state-of-the-art performance is enabled by narrow MCP pore diameters (~10 $\mu$m), thin transfer gaps, and a high quantum efficiency photocathode. These characteristics promote improved spatial and timing resolution, make the HRPPD less susceptible to ambient magnetic fields, reduce ion backflow which degrade the photocathode, and reduce the charge load per pore, allowing for higher rate capabilities. We have tested sample HRPPD tiles intended for the ePIC pfRICH detector at the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory and report on these findings. In particular, the behavior of a HRPPD in a static magnetic field up to 1.8 Tesla, quantum efficiency scans as well as the single photoelectron timing resolution will be presented at the conference. We will also report on the first results of a recent beam test at CERN using a prototype of a Cherenkov Ring Imaging detector equipped with HRPPD photosensors.