R&D on radiation hard active media based on quartz plates

The need for radiation-hard active media in particle detectors is prominently dictated by the future colliders and the future operations of the Large Hadron Collider. The areas of implementation range from calorimetry to beamline instrumentation to specialized forward detectors e.g. luminosity monitors. In this context, we developed the idea of utilizing quartz plates with various surface coating properties as the active medium for such detectors. Plain quartz is a pure Č erenkov radiator which has limited photostatistics. In order to improve the efficiency of the photodetection, various methods were investigated including coating with thin film radiation-hard wavelength shifters, p-terphenyl or 4% gallium doped zinc oxide. The readout options include direct coupling of the photodetector to the quartz plate, or fibers. We have studied various geometries and readout options and constructed calorimeter prototypes. Here we report on the results of the previous tests, and the recent developments, which enable several factors of performance improvements on MIP detection and shower response with simple geometrical modifications such as multi-layer tiles. The future implementation is centered on but not limited to the hadron endcap calorimeter of the CMS detector.