Samuel Merriman with Benjamin Monreal

Continuous Liquid Interface Production of Gas Electron Multipliers

Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) are detector tools used in high-energy particle physics research to detect weak ionizing radiation. GEMs are designed small enough to generate strong electric fields in small areas, allowing them to increase the signal from drift electrons. Current GEM fabrication process is difficult and costly, and restricts the usage of GEMs to only large-scale experiments. Recent advancements in Continuous liquid Interface Production (CLIP) are able to produce plastic parts that were once too small to be 3D printed. The goal of this research is to see if a GEM can be designed that will perform as well, or better, then other GEMs. This work will involve testing the printing capabilities of CLIP, redesigning the GEM, and manufacturing that GEM using CLIP. After the printable GEM has been developed, the GEM will be tested in a neutrino physics experiment with a drift chamber and detector. The GEM’s performance will be compared to the performance of other GEMs. The practicality of 3D printing GEM will also be determined. Manufacturing a working GEM using CLIP will remove current fabrication barriers required for making GEMs. The removal of fabrication barriers will allow the GEM to be more accessible, which will aid high-energy particle physics research.