Transmission of xenon scintillation light through PTFE

Abstract: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), also known as Teflon, is a common material used in the construction of liquid xenon detectors due to its high reflectivity for the VUV scintillation light of xenon. We present transmission measurements of PTFE for xenon scintillation light with peak emission at a wavelength of 175 nm. PTFE discs of different thicknesses are installed in front of a photosensor in two setups. One is filled with gaseous xenon, the other with liquid xenon. The measurements performed with the gaseous xenon setup at room temperature yield a transmission coefficient of $\lambda = \bigl(350{{}^{+60}_{~-0}}{}\,{\mathrm{(sys)}}\,\pm\, 50\,{\mathrm{(stat)}}\bigr)\,\mathrm{\mu m}$. This is found to be in agreement with the observations made using the liquid xenon setup.