Description
NEXT-100 is a neutrinoless double beta decay experiment located at the Canfanc Underground Laboratory and is due to start commissioning in Summer 2022. The experiment employs a high-pressure gas time projection chamber consisting of 100 kg of enriched Xe-136 and is capable of achieving sub-percent energy resolution FWHM at the decay energy as well as background rejection through calorimetry and reconstruction of event topology. Excellent energy resolution is essential for the experiment to minimise the contamination of backgrounds in the signal region and can be realised through the high-gain, low-noise amplification of ionisation signals via electroluminescence (EL). The EL region in NEXT-100 consists of two rings with a hexagonal mesh tensioned in-between. With the large electric field created between the meshes, the electrostatic deflection may be significant enough to create a non-uniform gap and impact the energy resolution. Measurements of the electrostatic deflection and a method to reduce it are presented along with an overview of the TPC design.
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