Beam test of a SciFi-based muon hodoscope module for HERD calibration on ground

The High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection facility is a next-generation space mission to study high-energy cosmic rays, scheduled for installation on the China Space Station in 2028. It requires frequent and comprehensive calibration using minimum ionizing particles for each detector system during the development phase. To facilitate the on-ground calibration, we proposed a high-precision, large-area cosmic-ray muon hodoscope based on scintillating fiber technology. A prototype module of a scintillating fiber mat was manufactured and subjected to the fragmented ions at CERN SPS facility. The results show that a spatial resolution of 71.3μm and a single-hit detection efficiency of 99.4% can be achieved for minimum ionizing particles in the beam, which can be equivalent to ground-level cosmic muons used for calibration purposes. This work provides guidance for the design and development of future full-scale hodoscope.