AURA Neutrino Detector Module
AURA (the Antarctic Under-Ice Radio Array) detectors were built for the detection of ultra-high energy neutrinos. These modules, built and partially designed (the top two boards) in the IDL, were deployed at depths greater than 1450m in the ice at the South Pole, in cooperation with the construction of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
The modules embody high-speed logic to detect only events that are neutrino-like since there are 1011 times as many false positives as expected real events. The events are digitized in four channels at over a gigahertz, and they are time-stamped to about a ns.
The photo at the left is a module built in the IDL before being sealed in a glass sphere that withstands the enormous pressure of a water column up to a mile. The photo at the right shows a module, ready to be lowered to 2450m on an IceCube detector string.
This project was engaged with D. Besson and the AURA collaboration in partnership with the IceCube project.
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AURA ROBUST board. An FPGA controls the operation of a custom 12-bit ADC that can operate a 2GHz per channel. |
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AURA Digital Radio Module, built in the IDL |
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FPGA board for an AURA Digital Radio Module. This is one board of a stack built by the IDL for AURA at the South Pole. |
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An AURA Digital Radio Module, mounted on an IceCube string, ready to be lowered 2450m into the ice. |
