Detector Seminar - Development of novel detector concepts for nuclear physics with rare isotope beams at FRIB

Since their invention in the 1930s, particle accelerators have enabled major discoveries and advancements in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and other fields. Progress in accelerator-based experimental physics has always been closely linked to advances in detector technology. Rare isotope (RI) beam facilities are now essential tools for nuclear physics research. The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), located on the campus of Michigan State University (MSU), is one of the world-leading user facilities for the study of RIs using the in-flight fragmentation method. Realizing the full discovery potential of a modern rare-isotope beam facility such as FRIB requires state-of-the-art experimental equipment capable of studying these isotopes at high beam rates and with high performance.

In this work, I report on the development of several detector concepts for tracking and particle identification (PID) of heavy ions. I describe the development of new micro-pattern gaseous detector (MPGD) structures, the Multi-layer THGEM (M-THGEM) and derivative architectures, capable of stable, high-gain operation at low pressure. Stable high gas-gain performance has been demonstrated in pure elemental gases (e.g., H₂, D₂, and He) in several experiments, applied as position-sensitive readout for a Time Projection Chamber operating in active-target mode (AT-TPC). Stable low-pressure operation in isobutane (40 Torr) has been demonstrated for drift-chamber readout at the focal plane of large-acceptance spectrometers (S800 and Sweeper).

In addition, I present progress on the design and construction of secondary-beam diagnostics for the FRIB fragment separator (ARIS), in support of the beam power ramp-up from the current 30 kW to the planned target of 400 kW over the next several years. These results position ARIS diagnostics developments to directly support effective rare-isotope beam production, extending the reach of radiation-detection technology for experimental nuclear physics with rare-isotope beams at FRIB and beyond.