Data: Study of a possible silicon photomultiplier based readout of the large plastic scintillator neutron detector NeuLAND

<p>The NeuLAND (New Large-Area Neutron Detector) plastic scintillator based time of flight detector for 0.2-1.6 GeV<br>
neutrons is currently under construction at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), Darmstadt, Germany.<br>
In its final configuration, NeuLAND will consist of 3,000 2.7 m long plastic scintillator bars that are read out on each<br>
end by fast timing photomultipliers.<br>
Here, data from a comprehensive study of an alternative light readout scheme using silicon photomultipliers (SiPM)<br>
are reported.&nbsp; For this purpose, a typical NeuLAND bar was instrumented on each end with a prototype of the same<br>
geometry as a 1&rdquo; photomultiplier tube, including four 6&times;6 mm2 SiPMs, amplifiers, high voltage supply, and micro-<br>
controller.<br>
Tests were carried out using the 35 MeV electron beam from the ELBE superconducting linac with its ps-level time jitter in two different modes of operation, namely parasitic mode with one electron per bunch and single-usermode with 1-60 electrons per bunch, using Acqiris fast digitizers. In addition, offline tests using cosmic rays and the NeuLAND data acquisition scheme were carried out.<br>
Typical time resolutions of &sigma;&le;120 ps were found for &ge; 95% efficiency, improving on previous work at ELBE and exceeding the NeuLAND timing goal of &sigma; &lt;150 ps. Over a range of 10-300 MeV deposited energy in the NeuLAND bar,&nbsp; the&nbsp; gain&nbsp; was&nbsp; found&nbsp; to&nbsp; deviate&nbsp; by &le; 10%&nbsp; (&le;20%)&nbsp; from&nbsp; linearity&nbsp; for&nbsp; 35&mu;m&nbsp; (75&mu;m)&nbsp; SiPM&nbsp; pitch,&nbsp; respectively, satisfactory for calorimetric use of the full NeuLAND detector.&nbsp; The dark rate of the prototype studied was found to<br>
be 70-200 s-1, comparable with the unavoidable cosmic-ray induced background.</p>

<p>The dataset contains the with the Acqiris Digitzier recorded waveforms and analysis scripts for interpretation of the data. Also GEANT4 simulations of the light propagation in a NeuLAND bar and the electron beam propagation are included.</p>

NeuLAND（新型大面积中子探测器）塑料闪烁体飞行时间探测器，适用于0.2-1.6 GeV中子，目前正处于德国达姆施塔特的质子与离子研究设施（FAIR）的建设阶段。<br>在最终配置中，NeuLAND将包含3,000根长2.7米的塑料闪烁体条，两端由快速时间光电倍增器进行读出。<br>在此，报告了一项关于使用硅光电倍增器（SiPM）的替代光读出方案的综合研究数据。为此，典型的NeuLAND条在两端分别装备了与1英寸光电倍增管相同几何形状的原型，包括四个6×6 mm²的SiPM、放大器、高压电源和微控制器。<br>测试使用了来自ELBE超导线性加速器的35 MeV电子束，在两种不同的操作模式下进行，即每个束团一个电子的寄生模式以及每个束团1-60个电子的单用户模式，使用Acqiris快速数字化器进行测试。此外，还进行了使用宇宙射线和NeuLAND数据采集方案的离线测试。<br>在≥95%效率的情况下，典型的时间分辨率达到σ≤120 ps，优于ELBE之前的成果，并超过了NeuLAND的时间目标σ<150 ps。在NeuLAND条中沉积的能量范围为10-300 MeV，发现增益在35μm（75μm）SiPM间距下与线性偏差≤10%（≤20%），对于NeuLAND探测器全范围的 calorimetric使用而言，这一结果令人满意。所研究的原型暗计数率为70-200 s⁻¹，与不可避免的宇宙射线诱导背景相当。<br>数据集包含Acqiris Digitizer记录的波形和分析脚本，用于数据解释。此外，还包括NeuLAND条中光传播和电子束传播的GEANT4模拟。