James Battat - Q-Pix: a pixelated charge readout system for large-scale liquid argon TPCs

Motivated by the scaling up of liquid noble detectors, we are developing a pixelated charge readout system called Q-Pix to provide low threshold and high (millimeter) spatial granularity in building-sized cryogenic detectors like the far detector for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). Rather than measuring detector current vs. time, Q-Pix integrates the detector current and measures the time it takes to accumulate a fixed amount of signal charge. I’ll discuss the motivation for a liquid noble TPC with pixelated charge readout, the goals and status of the Q-Pix project, and also discuss the new cryogenic testing facility under development at Wellesley College.