The 500 l test cryostat during a fill.
The cryogenic detector development facility is located at the West Campus of Colorado State University and provides facilities for R&D, testing, and quality assurance of detectors that operate in cryogens such as liquid argon or liquid nitrogen. Multiple research dewars are in place for this work and the focus has been on the development of photon detectors for LBNE. The facility would then be available for QA and checkout of such detectors as the project moves toward full production. It will also be possible to provide testing and development infrastructure for other projects as well.
The facility contains, 20 l, 40 l, and 500 l dewars, with the latter approximately 3 m in height and 0.5 m in diameter. The 40 l and 500 liter dewars can be sealed and evacuated allowing tests in LAr with impurities kept to the PPM level. The system has been designed to allow rapid turn-around of tests and therefore it is not a closed system and purification is not performed beyond evacuation and purge cycles prior to filling. This is something we may revisit if demand is sufficiently high for a purified test environment. Both the 40 and 500 l systems have dedicated dry scroll pumps in the system allowing them to be operated in parallel. An electric crane is also available to enable lifting of full scale detector components into the cryostat. An array of safety equipment (ODH monitoring, video surveillance, etc…) are also in place. Members of the group are trained to operate the facility, including data acquisition and handling. Once the 500 l dewar is filled it can be operated without opening for approximately 1 week without the addition of LAr.
We have worked with several groups within the LBNE photon detector project (LSU, LBNL, IU) to provide testing of prototype detectors.More tests of full scale photon detector prototypes are in the planning stage.
Preparation of the 500 liter cryostat prior to insertion of a prototype photon detector.
