Upgraded Cherenkov time-of-flight detector for the AFP project

Abstract

We present the results of our performance studies of the upgraded Cherenkov time-of-flight (ToF) detector for the AFP (ATLAS Forward Proton) project. The latest version consists of solid L-shaped fused silica bars, new customized ALD-coated micro-channel plate photomultipliers (MCP-PMTs) miniPlanacon XPM85112-S-R2D2 with an extended lifetime which operate at low gains (order of 103), and an updated construction. The improvements were aimed to increase the efficiency, the lifetime as well as the radiation hardness of the detector which has been designed to operate in high radiation areas (above 400 kGy/year). The detector was finally tested at the CERN-SPS test-beam facility (120 GeV π+ particles) in August 2021 prior to its installation at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Measurements proved the detector kept its inner timing resolution of 20 ps despite the rather low gain of its photodetector and reduced optical throughput caused by inevitable changes in the detector geometry.