Speaker
Description
Muography exploits naturally occurring cosmic-ray muons, produced by interactions of primary cosmic rays with atmospheric nuclei, for imaging applications. At sea level, muons are the most abundant charged particles, with an intensity of $\sim$1 cm$^{-2}$ min$^{-1}$. Over the past two decades, muon radiography has been applied in diverse contexts, including nuclear safety (monitoring spent fuel casks), transport security (detection of illicit or hazardous materials), and geoscience investigations of volcanoes, pyramids, tunnels, and mineral deposits. For muography, a wide range of detector technologies has been explored, including plastic scintillators, gaseous detectors, nuclear emulsions, and semiconductor devices.
Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) are gaseous detectors widely used in nuclear and particle physics. They are simple to construct, cost-effective, and have high detection efficiency and position resolution. These features make RPCs a compelling choice for tracking detectors in muography telescopes. We report on the development of gas-tight glass-RPCs optimized for multiple muography applications, emphasizing portability, robustness, autonomous operation, and reliability under challenging field conditions.
Modular muon telescope prototypes are being developed in different configurations, each with distinct design features. In one configuration, two standalone glass RPCs with 2 mm gas gaps and 160 $\times$ 160 mm$^2$ active areas are constructed from 3 mm thick electrodes and housed in airtight acrylic casings. Another design employs two 1.1 mm thick electrodes with a 1 mm gas gap and 160 $\times$ 160 mm$^2$ active area, enclosed in an aluminum housing. A third prototype features a double-gap configuration, with two 1 mm gas gaps formed by 1.1 mm thick glass electrodes and a 300 $\times$ 300 mm$^2$ active area. In all designs, the RPCs are sandwiched between orthogonal PCB-based strip readouts, providing bidirectional (X, Y) tracking of muon hits. The RPCs operate in avalanche mode with a standard gas mixture (95.2$\%$ C$_2$H$_2$F$_4$, 4.5$\%$ C$_4$H$_{10}$, 0.3$\%$ SF$_6$). Cosmic-ray muon data are collected using ASIC and FPGA–based acquisition systems. For field applications, sealed-mode operation is pursued to minimize gas consumption.
This contribution will present the detector designs, telescope configurations, and a proof-of-principle study demonstrating muon absorption in a high-Z material (Lead).
| Position | Scientific Officer |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | National Institute of Science Education and Research Bhubaneswar |
| Country | India |