Performance Characterization of sPHENIX Hadronic Calorimeter Scintillating Tiles

We are studying the performance characterization of sPHENIX Hadronic Calorimeter (HCal) scintillating tiles. sPHENIX will be installed in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL). It's goal is to probe the hot, dense state of nuclear matter known as quark gluon plasma using heavy ion collisions. The HCal will measure the energy of outgoing hadrons resulting from these collisions. The tiles that compose the HCal scintillate when hit by a particle, and that light is collected by a wavelength shifting fiber. The fiber directs the light to an SiPM, who's signal is grouped into calorimeter towers. To improve energy resolution, sPHENIX requires the towers to have tiles of similar light yield. The tiles are tested using cosmic rays to determine performance characteristics. Once they are tested, they are shipped to BNL and placed between absorber plates. sPHENIX is on schedule to take its first data in early 2023. This talk will present the status of the HCal tile testing and assembly.