Measurement of the Quantum Efficiency of Electrode Materials for VUV Photons in Liquid Xenon

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kazama, Shingo, Aoyama, Naoki, Itow, Yoshitaka, Kobayashi, Masatoshi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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_version_ 1866914138186317824
author Kazama, Shingo
Aoyama, Naoki
Itow, Yoshitaka
Kobayashi, Masatoshi
author_facet Kazama, Shingo
Aoyama, Naoki
Itow, Yoshitaka
Kobayashi, Masatoshi
contents Light dark matter searches using ionization signals in dual-phase liquid xenon (LXe) time projection chambers (TPCs) are limited by low-energy ionization backgrounds, including those from the photoelectric effect on the electrodes. To address this, we measured the quantum efficiency (QE) of various electrode materials for vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photons in LXe, including platinum (Pt), stainless steel (SUS304), and magnesium fluoride (MgF$_{2}$)-coated aluminum (Al). Our results show that MgF$_{2}$-coated Al exhibits the lowest QE among the tested materials. The QE for VUV photons with a mean wavelength of 179.5~nm was measured to be $(7.2 \pm 2.3) \times 10^{-5}$, corresponding to a reduction by a factor of 4.4 compared to SUS304, a commonly used electrode material in direct dark matter experiments with LXe. These findings suggest that employing low-QE electrodes can help mitigate photoelectric-induced backgrounds, potentially improving the sensitivity of LXe TPCs in light dark matter searches.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_14819
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Measurement of the Quantum Efficiency of Electrode Materials for VUV Photons in Liquid Xenon
Kazama, Shingo
Aoyama, Naoki
Itow, Yoshitaka
Kobayashi, Masatoshi
Instrumentation and Detectors
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Light dark matter searches using ionization signals in dual-phase liquid xenon (LXe) time projection chambers (TPCs) are limited by low-energy ionization backgrounds, including those from the photoelectric effect on the electrodes. To address this, we measured the quantum efficiency (QE) of various electrode materials for vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photons in LXe, including platinum (Pt), stainless steel (SUS304), and magnesium fluoride (MgF$_{2}$)-coated aluminum (Al). Our results show that MgF$_{2}$-coated Al exhibits the lowest QE among the tested materials. The QE for VUV photons with a mean wavelength of 179.5~nm was measured to be $(7.2 \pm 2.3) \times 10^{-5}$, corresponding to a reduction by a factor of 4.4 compared to SUS304, a commonly used electrode material in direct dark matter experiments with LXe. These findings suggest that employing low-QE electrodes can help mitigate photoelectric-induced backgrounds, potentially improving the sensitivity of LXe TPCs in light dark matter searches.
title Measurement of the Quantum Efficiency of Electrode Materials for VUV Photons in Liquid Xenon
topic Instrumentation and Detectors
High Energy Physics - Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.14819