ABALONETM Photosensors for the IceCube experiment

Abstract The ABALONE TM Photosensor Technology (U.S. Pat. 9,064,678) is a modern technology specifically invented for cost-effective mass production, robustness, and high performance. We present the performance of advanced fused-silica ABALONE Photosensors, developed specifically for the potential extension of the IceCube neutrino experiment, and stress-tested for 120 days. The resulting performance makes a significant difference: intrinsic gain of ≈ 6 × 10 8 , total afterpulsing rate of only 5 × 10 −3 ions per photoelectron, sub-nanosecond timing resolution, single-photon sensitivity, and unique radio-purity and UV sensitivity, thanks to the fused silica components—at no additional cost to the assembly process.