The temperature of a nonneutral plasma confined in a Penning-Malmberg trap can be determined by slowly lowering one side of the trap's electrostatic axial confinement barrier; the temperature is inferred from the rate at which particles escape the trap as a function of the barrier height. In many experiments, the escaping particles are directed toward a microchannel plate, and the resulting amplified charge is collected on a phosphor screen. The screen is used for imaging the plasma but can also be used as a Faraday cup (FC) for a temperature measurement. The sensitivity limit is then set by microphonic noise enhanced by the screen's high-voltage bias. Alternately, a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) can be employed to measure the charge via the light emitted from the phosphor screen. This decouples the signal from the microphonic noise and allows the temperature of colder and smaller plasmas to be measured than could be measured previously; this paper focuses on the advantages of a SiPM over a FC.

中文翻译：

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使用硅光电倍增管 (SiPM) 测量等离子体温度

限制在 Penning-Malmberg 陷阱中的非中性等离子体的温度可以通过缓慢降低陷阱静电轴向限制屏障的一侧来确定；从作为势垒高度函数的粒子逃逸陷阱的速率推断温度。在许多实验中，逃逸的粒子被导向微通道板，产生的放大电荷被收集在荧光屏上。该屏幕用于等离子体成像，但也可用作法拉第杯 (FC) 进行温度测量。然后通过屏幕高压偏置增强的麦克风噪声设置灵敏度限制。或者，可以使用硅光电倍增管 (SiPM) 通过从荧光屏发出的光来测量电荷。这将信号与麦克风噪声分离，并允许测量比以前测量的更冷、更小的等离子体的温度；本文重点介绍 SiPM 相对于 FC 的优势。