A low-pressure gas detector for heavy-ion tracking and particle identification

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment, 2002-12, Vol.495 (3), p.216-231
• Main Authors: Cunsolo, A, Cappuzzello, F, Foti, A, Gangnant, P, Lazzaro, A, Libin, J.F, Melita, A.L, Mittig, W, Nociforo, C, Orrigo, S, Roussel-Chomaz, P, Spitaels, C, Winfield, J.S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Instrumentation and Detectors; Low energy threshold; Low-pressure drift chamber; Physics; Strip readout
• ISSN: 0168-9002; 1872-9576
• DOI: 10.1016/S0168-9002(02)01610-8

A low-pressure gas tracker for heavy ions is described. It is based on a drift chamber with four series of multiplying wires for energy loss measurement and underlying strips for position and angle determination. Results of tests with an α-source and with low-energy heavy-ion beams are presented. They indicate the suitability of such a detector in a wide range of experiments with heavy ions where a low energy threshold, a large solid angle, together with a precise measurement of ion trajectories and identification is needed. In particular, the application as a prototype of the focal plane detector for the large-acceptance spectrometer MAGNEX is discussed.