High-precision alignment techniques for realizing an ultracompact electromagnetic calorimeters using oriented high-Z scintillator crystals

• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2024.169869
• Publication Date: 2024-09-11T17:24:51Z
• Authors: Lorenzo Malagutti; Alessia Selmi; Laura Bandiera; Vladimir Baryshevsky; Luca Bomben; Nicola Canale; Stefano Carsi; Mattia Ciliberti; Davide De Salvador; Vincenzo Guidi; Viktar Haurylavets; Mikhail Korjik; Giulia Lezzani; Alexander Lobko; Sofia Mangiacavalli; Andrea Mazzolari; Pietro Monti-Guar...; Matthew Moulson; Riccardo Negrello; Gianfranco Paternò; Leonardo Perna; Christian Petroselli; Michela Prest; Marco Romagnoni; Francesco Sgarbossa; Mattia Soldani; Alexei Sytov; Melissa Tamisari; Victor Tikhomirov; Erik Vallazza; Davide Valzani; Giorgio Zuccalà
• Keywords: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex); Bonding method; Electromagnetic calorimeter; Interferometry; Oriented crystals; X-ray diffraction; FOS: Physical sciences; Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)

Electromagnetic calorimeters used in high-energy physics and astrophysics rely heavily on high-Z inorganic scintillators, such as lead tungstate (PbWO4 or PWO). The crystalline structure and lattice orientation of inorganic scintillators are frequently underestimated in detector design, even though it is known that the crystalline lattice strongly modifies the features of the electromagnetic processes inside the crystal. A novel method has been developed for precisely bonding PWO crystals with aligned atomic planes within 100 μrad, exploiting X-ray diffraction (XRD) to accurately measure miscut angles. This method demonstrates the possibility to align a layer of crystals along the same crystallographic direction, opening a new technological path towards the development of next-generation electromagnetic calorimeters.