CMS Hadronic EndCap Calorimeter Upgrade Studies for SLHC “Čerenkov Light Collection From Quartz Plates”

Due to an expected increase in radiation damage under super-LHC conditions, we propose to substitute the scintillator tiles in the original design of the hadronic endcap (HE) calorimeter with quartz plates. Quartz is shown to be radiation hard. Using wavelength shifting fibers, it is possible to collect efficiently the Cerenkov light generated in quartz plates. This paper summarizes the results from various test beams, bench tests, and Geant4 simulations done on methods of collecting light from quartz plates, as well as radiation hardness tests on quartz material.