Development of xenon level instrumentation for the LZ dark matter detector

Galactical and cosmological evidence show that a quarter of the energy budget of our universe is made of collisionless, non-relativistic, and non-baryonic dark matter. Its potential coupling to standard model particles, however, has not yet been understood. One of the leading candidates - Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMP) - allows the production of a dark matter relic density as observed today and couples to standard model particles at or below the weak scale. LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a future tonne-scale two-phase xenon TPC aiming to detect WIMP recoils with xenon nuclei. The experiment will begin WIMP search data-taking in 2020 at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota and has a projected sensitivity of 3 × 10^-48 cm² or better in probing a 40 GeV/c² WIMP. The main observables of particle interactions in LZ are the primary scintillation (S1) and secondary scintillation (S2). However, optimising and achieving a stable S2 signal in such a tonne-scale TPC is non-trivial. Effects from the structural design of the S2 production region (top-corner structure), TPC tilt, and the xenon circulation system requires precise monitoring of the liquid surface. Such monitoring is achieved by the capacitive liquid level sensors developed within this thesis. The sensors are strategically placed to ensure that nonuniformity of the S2 signal due to the effects can be understood and corrected. In this thesis, the development of a monitoring system designed to optimise the quality of the S2 signal, based on the capacitive level sensors is discussed. A design of the electronics scheme based on a differential measurement allows femtofarad precision measurement of sensor's capacitance at picofarad level, even in the presence of cable capacitance at nanofarad level. A systematic study of the response of such a sensor to LXe and the application of the precision level sensors to two-phase TPC was carried out. Findings of intrinsic influences from LXe artefacts and LXe dielectric constant variation with its saturated temperature are identified; the result on the application of the sensors contributes to the designs of LZ circulation and the top-corner region. The final LZ level sensors show an artefact-free liquid level measurement and a 12 μm precision in measuring liquid nitrogen level (projection for LXe: ∼ 9 μm) over a 20 mm measurement range.