IceCube Upgrade mDOM Production in Full Swing

The IceCube group at MSU has a leading involvement in the production and testing of the new multi-PMT digital optical modules (mDOMs), that will be deployed at the South Pole as part of the IceCube upgrade. Our facility underwent a readiness review by experts from DESY in mid-April, and now a team of undergraduates, graduate students, engineers and postdocs, lead by Emmet Krupczak are working on building these DOMs. Each mDOM consists of 24 PMTs, several liters of optical gel, three cameras, many LEDs, electronics, and specially-designed 3D printed support structures.

Students and engineers at work in the mDOM facility at MSU

The assembly process involves receiving parts from various vendors and DESY in Germany, cleaning and testing components before bringing them into the clean room assembly area, gluing and installing PMTs and other components into the 3D-printed support structures, filling the modules with optical gel, wiring and cabling the modules, performing electronic testing, and finally sealing the modules and installing a metal harness for deployment.

After assembly, the modules are tested in a dark freezer to mimic Antarctic conditions, and also go through optical testing with a laser.

We aim to complete 205 modules by December 2024, with testing and final adjustments continuing through spring 2025. The mDOMs will ship to Antarctica in summer 2025.

Production and Integration

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