1 research outputs found
Nanobeacon: A time calibration device for the KM3NeT neutrino telescope
No full textThe KM3NeT Collaboration is currently constructing a multi-site high-energy
neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea consisting of matrices of
pressure-resistant glass spheres, each holding a set of 31 small-area
photomultipliers. The main goals of the telescope are the observation of
neutrino sources in the Universe and the measurement of the neutrino
oscillation parameters with atmospheric neutrinos. Both extraterrestrial and
atmospheric neutrinos are detected through the Cherenkov light induced in
seawater by charged particles produced in neutrino interactions in the
surrounding medium. A relative time synchronization between photomultipliers of
the order of 1 ns is needed to guarantee the required angular resolution of the
detector. Due to the large detector volumes to be instrumented by KM3NeT, a
cost reduction of the different systems is a priority. To this end, the
inexpensive Nanobeacon has been designed and developed by the KM3NeT
Collaboration to be used for detector time-calibration studies. At present,
more than 600 Nanobeacons have been already produced. The characterization of
the optical pulse and the wavelength emission profile of the devices are
critical for the time calibration. In this paper, the main features of the
Nanobeacon design, production and operation, together with the main properties
of the light pulse generated are described
