Spatial resolution studies with the BabyIAXO Micromegas prototype
physics.ins-det
/ Authors
A. Quintana, J. Castel, S. Cebrián, T. Dafni, D. Díez-Ibáñez, E. Ferrer-Ribas, A. Ezquerro, J. Galán, J. A. García, A. Giganon
and 13 more authors
C. Goblin, N. Goyal, F. J. Iguaz, I. G Irastorza, C. Loiseau, G. Luzón, C. Margalejo, H. Mirallas, L. Obis, T. Papaevangelou, O. Pérez, J. Porrón, M. J. Puyuelo
/ Abstract
The spatial resolution of the Micromegas prototype developed for the BabyIAXO experiment was evaluated using a low-energy X-ray beam at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility. BabyIAXO, currently under construction, aims to search for hypothetical solar axions. A key component of the experiment is a low-background X-ray detector with high efficiency in the 1-10 keV energy range and stringent background rejection capabilities. Achieving a spatial resolution on the order of, or better than, 1 mm is critical for accurately reconstructing signal shapes and positions, and for effectively discriminating between signal and background events. Therefore, a precise characterization of the detector's spatial resolution is essential to validate its suitability for the experiment. This study involved scanning the IAXO-D1 Micromegas detector under various beam energies, positions, and drift field configurations to evaluate their influence on spatial resolution. A resolution of approximately 100 $μ$m at 6 keV was achieved, confirming the strong potential of this technology for application in the final BabyIAXO setup.