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Magnet Photo

Developments of new photodetectors for Imaging Atmospheric Chrenkov Telescopes within the MAGIC-II project.

Abstract: Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) with a fine pixelised camera are opening a new window of very high-energy gamma-ray bands in the sky. The 17m-diameter MAGIC telescope is currently the largest single-dish IACT with the lowest energy threshold among existing IACTs, It has been in scientific operation since 2004 on the Canary Island of La Palma. In 2008, the project is being upgraded to MAGIC-II with a second telescope. In the first phase the camera will be equipped with increased quantum efficiency (QE) photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). For further lowering energy threshold, a new type of photodetector “High-QE Hybrid PhotoDetector (HPD)” with an 18-mm GaAsP photocathode has been developed to be used in the second phase. The recently developed HPDs provide a peak QE of more than 50%. Compared to the PMTs, the new HPDs would improve the overall Cherenkov photon conversion efficiency by a factor of 2. GaAsP photocathode aging measurements showed a sufficient long lifetime for being used in the telescope. In this talk, I will report on the developments of the new photodetectors and their applications to the camera of the second MAGIC telescope.
Speaker: Masaaki Hayashida - SLAC
Speaker Bio: Masaaki Hayashida is a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at KIPAC/SLAC, working for high-energy astrophysics on the GLAST project. Previously, he worked at Max-Planck-Institute for Physics, Munich in Germany and involved in photodetector developments for MAGIC-II. He received his Ph.D. from Ludwig-Maximilian-University of Munich in March 2008 for work on study of very high-energy gamma-ray emission from active galactic nuclei using the MAGIC telescope.
Poster Link: Poster
Presentation: