First Characterization of a Novel Grain Calorimeter: the GRAiNITA Prototype

A novel type of calorimeter based on grains of inorganic scintillatingcrystal readout by wave length shifting fibers is proposed. The concept andmain features as well as the prototype design are introduced and the firstresults obtained using cosmic rays are presented. The number of photo-electronsgenerated by cosmic rays muons in the prototype detector is estimated to be ofthe order of 10000 photo-electrons per GeV, validating the concept of thisnext-generation shashlik calorimeter.