Experimental study of the time resolution for particle detectors based on MRPC, SiPM and UFSD technologies

The work here presented describes in details an extensive study of the time resolution of various detectors. Precise time measurements are of funda- mental importance both in particle and in medical physics; even more, an excellent time resolution (tens of ps) will be necessary for the next generation of colliders in high energy physics, facing also the challenging request of a high rate capability. Several detectors have been studied, spanning several technologies from gaseous to silicon: Multigap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC), Silicon PhotoMulti- plier (SiPM) and a new prototype of silicon detectors, the Ultra Fast Silicon Detector (UFSD). These studies have been performed both in a cosmic ray setup, at the INFN Bologna laboratories, and in a beam test setup, in the T10 and H8 beam lines at CERN. The R&D on time resolution for all the three technologies has been performed with different detector designs. The study showed promising results; indeed all the detectors reached a final time resolution smaller than 70 ps, with a minimum value of 35 ps. For the MRPC, an attempt to improve also the rate capability has been successfully realised. Moreover, a study based on data analysis has been performed for the ALICE TOF detector (based on the MRPC technology); possible degradations of the time resolution related to signals in two adjacent readout pads have been investigated and corrected, allowing an improvement of the final TOF time resolution.