Test campaign of the mini-calorimeter for the AGILE satellite

E. ROSS1', N. Auricchioa, E. Celestia, G. Di COCCOa, M. Galli b A. Mauri b

C. Labanti', F. Schiavon&', A. Tracia,

a Istituto TeSRE-CNR Via P. Gobetti, 101 40129 Bologna - Italy

b ENEA "E. Clementel" Via Don Fiammelli, 2 40128 Bologna - Italy

ABSTRACT
The AGILE (Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero) satellite is an accepted mission by the ASI (Italian Space
Agency) for Small Scientific Payload as a powerful and cost-effective space mission dedicated to gamma-ray (30 MeV to
50 GeV) astrophysics during the years 2002-2005. The instrument is designed to achieve an optimal angular resolution
(about 5-20' for intense sources) and a large field-of-view (better then 2 sr.). The AGILE scientific payload consists of a
silicon-tungsten tracker, a Cesium Iodide mini-calorimeter, an anti-coincidence system made of plastic scintillators, fast
read-out electronics and processing units. The mini-calorimeter detector is made of 2 orthogonal planes each one
comprising 16 bars of CsI(Tl) each having a cross section of 1 .5x2.3 cm. and a length of 40 cm. The signal from each bar
is collected by photo-diodes placed at both ends with the aim of:
. obtaining information on the energy deposited in the bars by particles produced in the tracker and therefore
contributing to the determination ofthe total energy.
. detecting Gamma Ray Bursts and other impulsive events in the energy range 0.25 - 100 MeV.
Two bars have been tested in the ITeSRE laboratory using 241 and 22Na radioactive sources and at the CERN
( European Center for Nuclear Radiation, Geneva) facilities using a beam of charged particles at the energy of 2 GeV/c.
In this paper, after a short description of the experimental set-up, the performance of the two bars in terms of equivalent
charge output, light attenuation, position and energy reconstruction as a function of the distance from the bars' center are
reported. Moreover the results of a first approach to a Montecarlo simulation of the bars are compared with experimental
data.

Keywords: AGILE, Gamma-ray detectors, Silicon-strips, CsI(Tl) crystals, Photodiodes

1. INTRODUCTION

The AGILE instrument is light ( 65 kg.) and effective in detecting and monitoring gamma-ray sources within a large
field of view 2 The design adopted is to have one integrated instrument made
of 3 detectors with broad-band detection and imaging capability:
. AGILE Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID) sensitive in the energy
range 30 MeV — 50 GeV consisting of a Silicon-Tungsten Tracker, a Cesium
Iodide Mini-Calorimeter, an Anti-coincidence (AC) system made of segmented
plastic scintillator, fast read-out electronics and processing unit.
U
Super-AGILE detector which also has detection and imaging capability in
the hard X-ray (10 - 40 keV) range with a fast burst alert system.
. CsI(Tl) Mini-Calorimeter (MC) will also detect and collect events
independently of the GRID and provide spectral and accurate timing
information of transient events. The content of a cyclic MC events memory
buffer will be transmitted to the ground for impulsive events such as a Gamma-
Ray Burst (GRB).
Fig. 1 shows a schematic overview of the AGILE instrument without the AC
system and electronics
.
boxes.
.
The GRID comprises 14 silicon-strip planes .
. Fig. 1 : Instrument Overview
stacked over the mim-calonmeter. Just over the GRID there is Super-AGILE
consisting of an additional plane of 4 silicon-strip square detectors plus an ultra-light coded absorbing mask structure
placed 14 cm above the silicon detector.

X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Instrumentation for Astronomy XI, Kathryn A. Flanagan, Oswald H. W. Siegmund,
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 2. MINI-CALORIMETER
The MC detector, as shown in fig. 2, consists of two orthogonal planes each made of 16 bars of CsI(Tl) wrapped with
white diffusive paper, having a cross section of 1 .5x2.3 cm and a
length of 40 cm. The signal from each CsI(Tl) bar is collected by two
photo-diodes (PDs) placed at both ends with the aim:
U To measure the interaction positions and energy deposited in the PBRAMPs
CsI(Tl) bars (starting from 1 MeV) by particles produced by
(1 x side) ,P
gamma rays in the tracker and therefore to contnbute to the
determination of the total photon energy and their incoming
direction reconstruction. ( ( 7
16 x 2 BAR
. To detect Gamma Ray Bursts and other impulsive events in the ELECTRONIC BOX
energy range 0.25 — 100 MeV. The lower threshold of 0.25 MeV
is obtained by using, as independent detectors, the 64 sides of the
bars, for this reason in the energy range 0.25 — 1 MeV information Fig. 2: Mini-calorimeter schematic view
ofposition and energy are lost.
Assuming an exponential law for both directions along the bars, the PDs output signals, in number of electrons n1 e n2
detected at each end, are given by :

ill E.e1[2] n2 =E.e2[2]

where x = 0 is the bar centre, a e a2 are the light attenuation coefficients, L is the bar length, E is the deposited energy
and Q is the total output charge in eikeV generated by scintillating light.
In the case of ci = a2 C the position and energy ofthe interaction can be reconstructed using:

1 n La ____
x=—ln--1-
2ct
E=.e2 v12
n2 Q
The energy and spatial resolution are dominated from the equivalent electronic noise N expressed in and are
calculated using the following relations:

LI L
(AE e4 cx=
E) Jv
I — =2.35 i
ilcosh(ax)+
2e2
QE
2
N cosh(2ax)

In the following figure are reported for different a values and a total charge output of 30 eikeV the expected values of
235a E

AE/E and o estimated for one bar for the 1275 keV and 10 MeV deposited energy:

Energy Resolution @ 1275 keV for different light a 1275 keV for different light attenuation coefficients
attenuation coefficients and electronic noise of 900 and electronic noise of 900
70 50
- - 0.035 — 0.060
60 \\a (cm ) 0.030
/ 40 \N a (cm ') 0.030 0.035 0.060
/
1
/ //
.. '.'.
50 '.
'%
40 ... 130

w30
20

10
-::: . - . . .-.--.-.-.-.-.- . - . ._ 10

0 0
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 2C

Interaction position (cm) Interaction position (cm)

Fig. 3a: Expected zXE/E and a at 1275 keV

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 Energy Resolution @ 10 MeV for different light attenuation " @ 10 MeV for different light attenuation coefficients
coefficients and electronic noise of 900 &rms and electronic noise of 900 erms
10

a (cm 1) 0.030
- 0.035 0.060
6

5 \\ a (cm ') 0.030 0.035 — 0.060

/
—7
8
//
6
4 N
2
2

0
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20

Interaction position (cm) Interaction position (cm)

Fig. 3b: Expected L\E/E and at 10 MeV

3. EXPERIMENTAL TESTS ON BARS

Two bars (1 .5x3x40 cm complete with white diffusive wrapping and photo-diodes) very representative of those which
will be used in the final configuration detector, are been tested in the TeSRE laboratory using 241 and 22Na radioactive
sources, and at CERN (European Center for Nuclear Radiation in Geneva) using a beam of charged particles at the energy
of2 GeV/c.

Source

Photodiode Hamamatsu
['-iid Type 2xS359O-08
Active area 2 x 1 cm2
Ileakage 2xlnA
CPD 2x4OpF
Charge Preamp Amptek 250
Sensitivity 0.16 uV/e
Shaping Amp Silena Mod. 7611
Shaping time 3 usec
MCA Amptek
N. channels 4096
Full range 5 Volt
Pulse Gen. BNC Mod. PB4
Rise time 1 us
Fall time 100 us

Fig. 4: Laboratory test setup

Using the setup shown in fig. 4 a set of measurements has been performed on each side in order to determine the main
parameters of the electronics chain and of the two bars.

3.1. Electronic chain characterizations

The most important parameter to be measured for its harmful effect on the bars' performance is the equivalent input
electronic noise. The 2 parallel PDs glued at each side of the bar were irradiated with an 241Am source. The number of
electrons produced from the 59.5 keV source emission in the silicon is around 16400 at room temperature, the
determination on the MCA ofthe 59.5 keV peak centroid, corrected for the offset ofthe measurement chain calculated by
means of the precision pulse generator, gives a calibration in electrons per channel of the MCA. From the FWHM of the
gaussian distribution ofthe pulse generator peaks, the sigma or equivalent input noise expressed in e19 is obtained.

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 In table 1 are shown the acquired data and the calculated noise. The measure of the noise available directly from the
FWHM ofthe 241Am peak, shown in the last row for comparison, is affected by a higher error due to the low counting rate
against the local gamma background.

Measure with Pulse Generator Bar 1 — R Bar 1 — L Bar 2 — R Bar 2 - L

Gain (ch output for the same signal input) 163.34 0.04 156.69 0.03 158.09 0.07 163.23 0.05
Offset (ch) -9.38 0.28 -1 1.67±0.93 -6.56 0.18 -15.48±0.26
Mean FWHM ofpeaks (ch) 22.21 0.79 36.18 1.73 18.12 0.47 22.04 0.69
Measure_with_241Am
59.5 keVpeakposition(ch) 154.21±1.48 156.85±2.61 151.89±1.47 161.52±1.55
59.5 keV peak width FWHM (ch) 26.22 3.45 36.10 7.90 26.99 4.37 29.28 5.01
CalibrationMCA(eich) 106.35±1.02 104.56±1.74 107.97±1.05 101.54±0.97
Noise_ems
Pulse generator 887 33 833 29 836 41 898 38
241Am 995±104 898±101 910±129 976±259

Table 1 : Main parameters ofthe electronics chains

3.2. Bars characterizations

The parameters to be determined are:

1 . the amount of charge output from the PDs as a function of the energy interacting in various positions along the bar
2. the attenuation ofthe scintillating light inside the bar as a function ofthe distance from the PDs
3. the energy lost from charge particles passing at different angles through the single and crossed bars
The first two functions are obtained in the laboratory from a single set of measurements using a collimated radio-active
source of 22Na placed at ten different positions with respect the two sides ofthe bar, a limitation ofthis simple method is
the impossibility to cover all the bar length with the 22Na source. In figure 5, showing the charge output as a function of
the distance from the PDs, it is possible to see the different behavior ofthe two bars, in particular the second bar in future
must be refurbished. Accurate analysis with the help of curve fit programs gives the exponential functions in the left and
right directions for each bar. The results are plotted in fig. 6-a for the bar 1, in fig. 6-b for bar 2, while fig. 6-cshows, just
for bar 1-L, how the attenuation factor changes near and far from photodiodes. In table 2 are reported all the various
attenuation coefficients for the two bars.

20

—.— Bar 1 Channel

18 —,a-.- Bar I Channel R

>
>
-a)
a)

0
0a)
D)
0
0

: Position (cm)
. .

20 5 10

Position (cm)
15 20

Fig. 5: Charge output attenuation along the bars

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 Bar I - L Bar I - R
y=aexp(-x/b) a1 5.468392 b=22. I 08259 y=aexp(-xlb) a=1 5.3. 7957 b=24.41 2127

-.
>'1) 1
1)
>
15
'-

:0 1 0

__
Q.
01
a)

---
C)

0 0
: 7
1D
H I5 0 5 10 15 2(
Position (cm) Position (cm)
Fig.: 6-a
Bar2- L Bar2- R
y=aexp(-xlb) a=1 7.8431 43 b=1 5.973651 y=aexp(-x/b) a=1 6.059882 b=23.753307

.
17

>a) N >
ci)
N
ci. 0
0 0 11
ci)
C)
ci)
C)
--
—
0 0 &
5 I0 2)
C 0 5 10 5 2(
Position (cm) Position (cm)
Fig.: 6-b
Bar I - L Bar I - L
y=aexp(-x/b) a=1 4.595456 b=25.570402
17

>
a)
.
>a) '5
-'-.. ®

________
'a) 'a)

: 1
ci-
0
a)
C)
('3
0
0.
:3
0
a)
C)
('3
0
I__
£__
7

C 5 10 15 20
Position (cm) Position (cm)
Fig.: 6-c
Fig. 6 a-b-c: Best fits ofthe attenuation functions

Table 2: Attenuation coefficients a=l/b (cm1) measured by 22Na

y=aexp(-xlb) Bar 1 — L Bar 1 — R Bar 2 — L Bar 2 - R

all measured points a=O.045 a=O.041 a0.063 aO.O42
first 6 points a=O.054 a=O.053 a=O.065 oO.O55
last 5 points a=O.039 a0.034 a=O.057 a=O.036

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 For the measurement indicated at point 3 the acquisition of charged particles data at CERN is necessary. As shown in fig.
7, a quite different electronics set-up has been used. With this configuration the diffuse gamma background is eliminated
and it is possible to reconstruct the position and energy of each interacting charged particle. After a re-calibration with the
help of a 22Na source many measurements were taken with about 1 00 particles for each beam spill which have a repetition
rate of about ten seconds. In fig. 8 are reported typical spectra of the interacting particles (&, jC, rc) of 2 GeV/c energy in
the middle of the bar with a beam diameter spread of about 3 cm. In the picture is clearly shown the energy lost in the
CsI(Tl) as a function of thickness obtained by rotating the bar at different angles (90° to 45°)with respect to the incident
beam. A new measure of the light attenuation along the bars was taken only between -1 0 to +1 0 cm from the center of the
bars for mechanical reason, the results plotted in fig. 9 just for bar 1 and summarized in table 3 for the two bars, show that
it is correct to extend the exponential function reported for the 5 last points of fig. 6-c until the end ofthe bar.

BAR2
160

140

120

100

0
:D

C)
60

40

20

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

:
ENERY (MEV)

Fig. 7: CERN test setup Fig. 8: Energy reconstruction at different angles

BARI —1 BARI-R
350 350

— 300 — 300
0) ci)
(1) U)

c 250 c 250
V V
. 200 .... -.--.-.- .. ...-..--
. 200
ci)
0 ( 150

100 I 00
-10 -5 0 5 10 -10 -5 0 5 10
Position (cm) Position (cm)

Fig. 9: Light attenuation (particles - 2 GeV/c)

Table 3: Attenuation coefficients a=lfb (cm1) measured by charge particles

FIT Barl—L Ban —R Bar2—L Bar2-R

y=aexp(-xlb) a=O.038 a=O.030 a=O.060 a=O.038

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 4. MONTECARLO SIMULATIONS
Montecarlo simulations have been performed to reproduce the CERN experimental results. The Montecarlo toolkit3 has
been used to simulate the energy release in the CsI bars by a beam ______________________________________________
of charged particles. There are some uncertainties in the energy
calibrations of the bars, but the overall agreement between 300
experimental and simulated data is good, showing that an
exponential law for the description of the light transport in the bars
is adequate. The CERN experimental setup has been represented in
200
a simple way by two superimposed CsI bars and a perfectly
collimated 2 GeV/c electron beam hitting the center of the bars at a
right angle and the attenuation coefficients a reported in table 2 are °
used in the simulations. This representation has shown to be 100

adequate for a first analysis of the experiment, the energy released

in the bar has been transported, with the exponential attenuation
law, to the photodiodes at the two ends of the bars, in this the 0
energy obtained at the photodiode for a beam hitting the bar center 0 5 10 15

way is simulated. To compare experimental and simulated data the Energy (MeV)

system, composed of the CsI bar and the electronics chain, has
been calibrated in energy. The simulated data are compared with Fig. 10: Bar 1-L (lower peaks) and R (upper peaks)
the experimental points in fig. 10 where the dashed curves are the
simulated data for bar 1-L and 1-R, the continuous ones are experimental data obtained at CERN. The overall agreement
is good, considering the uncertainties in the alpha measurements. This shows that the simple exponential form can be a
good approximation for the transmission of the light in the bar.

5. CONCLUSIONS

The bar 1 performances are slightly better, in terms of electronic noise and charge output than used in the plot of fig. 3-a.
Bar 2 presents different attenuation coefficients in the two direction and does not work as expected for the light travelling
toward the left photodiodes (a=O.060) and that is a problem to investigate.
A single exponential function with a single attenuation coefficient is adequate but, for a precise reconstruction of energy
and position of the interacting particles, a representation of the attenuation along the bar with different a values must be
taken in consideration.
Using a new mechanical movement, a new set of measure as been done at CERN in May 2000 with the aim to evaluate a
mini-system composed by a front layer of scintillating plastic, a ladder of 384 silicon strips and the two crossed bar of the
mini-calorimeter. The acquired data are still under analysis.
In future a certain number of bars (4 or 8) will be built and tested in order to evaluate if it is possible to havea large
number ofbars with the same performances as for bar 1.

6. REFERENCES
1. M. Tavani et al. "AGILE a Gamma-Ray Mission" Poster-paper presented at the 1999 Meeting ofthe High Energy
Astrophysics Division, April 12-15, Charleston, South Carolina
2. F. Longo et al. "GRB studies with AGILE" Poster-paper presented at the 1999 Meeting ofthe High Energy
Astrophysics Division, April 12-15, Charleston, South Carolina
3. 3G. Di Cocco et al. "An imager for gamma-ray astronomy - balloon prototype" SPIE Proceeding, Vol. 1549, July
1991.
4. 4.E. Rossi et all. "Performances ofdetector elements for PICsIT: the high energy detector plane ofthe IBIS
instrument on board the INTEGRAL satellite" SPIE Proceeding, Vol. 3445, July 1998.
5. GEANT : Detector Description and Simulation Tool , Application Software Group, CERN, Geneva 1993, CERN
Program Library Long Writeup W5013.

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