May 2023
Make 1 from 144
“How can we simplify the mechanical design of our detector? My postdoc in Mainz began with this question. As part of the CALICE collaboration, we want to develop innovative calorimeters for future super accelerators - for example the International Linear Collider (ILC). Specifically, I am working on a highly granular hadronic calorimeter that can record particle tracks more precisely than ever before.
There was already a 1 cubic meter prototype whose mechanical construction was very challenging. One layer consisted of 144 scintillator tiles - each measuring 3 x 3 centimeters - which had to be individually packed and glued together. Our idea: couldn't we work with one large tile instead of 144 small ones? And indeed: the new mega tile is 36 x 36 centimetres in size, with individual segments created using drilled grooves filled with a special adhesive. Now the top and bottom or edges of the tile had to be processed in such a way that the entire system works reliably and precisely. That was quite a lot of systematic development work, but it was worth it: we were able to extremely simplify the mechanical design and structure of a layer while maintaining the same performance. I would call the result a working prototype.
©: Angelika Stehle
It could still be a while before our calorimeter can be used on a new accelerator. However, two experiments are already being considered for using our beautiful design: the neutrino experiment DUNE, which is currently under construction, and an experiment called SHADOWS, which we want to propose for the SPS accelerator at CERN. I was so impressed by my first visit to Mainz that it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to do research here as a postdoc. The decisive factor was above all the great know-how and expertise in the detector laboratory - which offers almost unlimited possibilities.”
Dr. Antoine Laudrain is a postdoc in the group of Professor Volker Büscher. His academic path led him via Paris, where he completed his PhD with a thesis on the ATLAS experiment, to Mainz. His next stop will be Hamburg.