Upgraded Cherenkov time-of-flight detector for the AFP project.

We present the results of our performance studies of the upgraded Cherenkov time-of-flight (ToF) detector for the AFP (ATLAS Forward Proton) project. The latest version consists of solid L-shaped fused silica bars, new customized ALD-coated micro-channel plate photomultipliers (MCP-PMTs) miniPlanacon XPM85112-S-R2D2 with an extended lifetime which operate at low gains (order of 10), and an updated construction. The improvements were aimed to increase the efficiency, the lifetime as well as the radiation hardness of the detector which has been designed to operate in high radiation areas (above 400 kGy/year).

Performance studies of new optics for the time-of-flight detector of the AFP project.

We present the results of performance studies of the upgraded optical part of the time-of-flight subdetector prototype for the AFP (ATLAS Forward Proton) detector obtained during the test campaign in a synchrotron test-beam facility with 5 GeV electrons at the DESY laboratory (Hamburg, Germany) in June 2019. The detection of the particle arrival time is based on generation of Cherenkov light in an L-shaped fused silica bar. In the previous version of the ToF, all bars were made of two pieces (radiator and light guide) glued together with a dedicated glue (Epotek 305).