Reduction of high voltage discharge in GEM detectors for the ME0 station of the CMS forward muon system

The Phase 2 upgrade of the CMS muon spectrometer will include the installation of two new muon stations based on Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology. While the GE1/1 station is already installed and the GE2/1 detectors are under construction, the ME0 station is expected to be inserted in CMS during the Long Shutdown 3 (LS3). The new ME0 system will increase the acceptance for muon detection in the region $2.03<\eta<2.82$ where there is a high radiation background. When triple-GEM detectors, including ME0, operate at high gain, there are occasional discharges within the transfer gaps that are likely followed by less-common secondary discharges and may cause irreversible damage to the detector. The ME0 detector has the advantage of using double-segmented GEM foils that help lower the probability of high voltage discharges, and in turn, this protects the detector and maintains the high detection efficiency. To optimize the ME0 design, we studied the impact of High Voltage (HV) filter resistors and segment orientation of ME0 GEM foils on discharge propagation probability within the detector.