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High-energy physics experiments at the high-intensity frontier place ever-greater demands on detectors, and in particular on tracking devices. In order to compare the performance of many possible small-size tracking prototypes, a high-resolution cosmic ray tracker may be used as an external track reference. We have constructed a telescope by assembling four spare ladders of the external layers of the Silicon Vertex Tracker of the BaBar experiment. This test facility, operating at INFN Sezione di Pisa, provides the detector under test with an external track with an intrinsic resolution of 15–30 ~\mu\m. The DAQ originally used in the BaBar experiment was replaced by custom-designed boards coupled with an acquisition front-end personal computer through commercial field-programmable gate array evaluation boards. We show that the facility is operative, and we present the performance in terms of tracking resolution and efficiency. A first device has been characterized, and some plots from the analysis demonstrating the telescope performance are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Timing Counter of the MEG (Mu to Electron Gamma) experiment is designed to deliver trigger information and to accurately measure the timing of the e^+ in searching for the decay \mu^+ \rightarrow e^+\gamma. It is part of a magnetic spectrometer with the \mu^+ decay target in the center. It consists of two sectors upstream and downstream the target, each one with two layers: the inner one made with scintillating fibers read out by APDs for trigger and track reconstruction, the outer one consisting in scintillating bars read out by PMTs for trigger and time measurement. The design criteria, the obtained performances and the commissioning of the detector are presented herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The performance of fine-mesh Hamamatsu photomultipliers with 1, 1.5, and 2in. diameters has been measured in magnetic fields (up to 1.2T) to determine gain and timing properties. Rate capabilities have also been studied. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Liquid scintillator calorimeters and in particular liquid cryogenic noble gas detectors can be calibrated and monitored by the use of multiple -sources distributed in the detector sensitive volume. For the MEG experiment we developed a method based on the use of and point sources deposited on thin ( diameter) gold-plated tungsten wires permanently suspended in the volume and fixed at the surfaces of the large vessel containing the LXe. The method is valuable in measuring the relative QEs of all PMTs surrounding the sensitive LXe volume, in determining the LXe optical properties for the UV scintillation light and in checking the stability of the calorimeter properties during the experiment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite the general discard in using Al/Ag alloys as transition edge sensors (TES), primarily due to the persistent instability of these devices, further investigations were conducted on the metallic diffusion processes based on the phase diagram of these systems for periods of more than 9 months. The results demonstrated the formation of a stable superconducting inter-metallic alloy at the sample interface showing an HCP lattice corresponding to the δ-Al/Ag phase alloy. Furthermore, the transition temperature of the alloy depends on the material stoichoimetry and can vary from about 80mK to more than 100mK. In this paper, we suggest the R&D continuation of Al/Ag inter-metallic δ-phase as homogeneous stable films for TES applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The calorimetric determination of the neutrino mass by means of cryogenic detectors could play a significant role, being in principle able to investigate the 10−1 eV/c 2 region. But the question if the developments in this new technique will allow verify the expected performances is still open. A step forward in the advancement of this technology is represented by the incoming second-generation experiment on the β-decay of Re187 with superconducting rhenium, microcalorimeters, MANU-2. It is expected that this new experiment with about 300 detectors will achieve a sensitivity of 1.5eV/c 2 (90% CL), in 1yr, that allow to cover or improve the present best limit from tritium beta spectroscopy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]