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Direct comparison of high voltage breakdown measurements in liquid argon and liquid xenon

Journal Article · · Journal of Instrumentation
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [2];  [3];  [5];  [2]
  1. Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Waymo LLC, Mountain View, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  4. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Grammarly Inc., San Francisco, CA (United States)
  5. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

As noble liquid time projection chambers grow in size their high voltage requirements increase, and detailed, reproducible studies of dielectric breakdown and the onset of electroluminescence are needed to inform their design. The Xenon Breakdown Apparatus (XeBrA) is a 5-liter cryogenic chamber built to characterize the DC high voltage breakdown behavior of liquid xenon and liquid argon. Electrodes with areas up to 33 cm2 were tested while varying the cathode-anode separation from 1 to 6 mm with a voltage difference up to 75 kV. A power-law relationship between breakdown field and electrode area was observed. Finally, the breakdown behavior of liquid argon and liquid xenon within the same experimental apparatus was comparable.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1616072
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1762856
OSTI ID: 22891476
Report Number(s):
LLLNL-JRNL--788151; ark:/13030/qt252876nt
Journal Information:
Journal of Instrumentation, Journal Name: Journal of Instrumentation Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 14; ISSN 1748-0221
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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