Published May 21, 2011 | Version v1
Journal article

FACT-The first Cherenkov telescope using a G-APD camera for TeV gamma-ray astronomy

  • 1. ETH Zurich, Institute for Particle Physics, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)
  • 2. Technische Universitaet Dortmund, D-44221 Dortmund (Germany)
  • 3. Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, CH-1015 (Switzerland)
  • 4. ISDC, Data Centre for Astrophysics, CH-1290 Versoix (Switzerland)

Description

Geiger-mode Avalanche Photodiodes (G-APD) bear the potential to significantly improve the sensitivity of Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes (IACT). We are currently building the First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope (FACT) by refurbishing an old IACT with a mirror area of 9.5 square meters and are constructing a new, fine-pixelized camera using novel G-APDs. The main goal is to evaluate the performance of a complete system by observing very high energy gamma-rays from the Crab Nebula. This is an important field test to check the feasibility of G-APD-based cameras to replace at some time the PMT-based cameras of planned future IACTs like AGIS and CTA. In this article, we present the basic design of such a camera as well as some important details.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2010.10.081

Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1016/j.nima.2010.10.081;
PII
S0168-9002(10)02346-6;

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Journal Volume
639
Journal Issue
1
Journal Page Range
p. 58-61
ISSN
0168-9002
CODEN
NIMAER

Conference

Title
7. International workshop on ring imaging Cherenkov detectors
Acronym
RICH2010
Dates
3-7 May 2010
Place
Cassis (France)

Optional Information

Copyright
Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.