Lifetime Extension of the Gas Discharge Detectors with Plasma Etching of Silicon Deposits in 80%CF4 + 20%CO2

• Published in: Physics of atomic nuclei 2017-12, Vol.80 (9), p.1532-1538
• Main Authors: Gavrilov, G. E., Vakhtel, V. M., Maysuzenko, D. A., Tavtorkina, T. A., Fetisov, A. A., Shvetsova, N. Yu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; Discharge; Electron microscopy; Interaction of Plasma; Particle and Nuclear Physics; Particle Beams; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Plasma etching; Radiation With Matter; Silicon compounds; Silicon dioxide; Strontium 90; Wire
• ISSN: 1063-7788; 1562-692X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1063778817090071

A method of elimination of silicon compounds from the anode wire of an aged proportional counter is presented. The aging of a counter with a 70%Ar + 30%CO 2 and a 60%Ar + 30%CO 2 + 10%СF 4 working mixture was stimulated by a 90 Sr β source. To accelerate the process of aging, the gas mixture flow to the counter was supplied through a pipe with RTV coated wall. As a result, the amplitude of the signal decreased 70% already at accumulated charge of Q = 0.03 C/cm. The etching of the silicon compounds on the wire surface with an 80%CF 4 + 20%CO 2 gas mixture discharge led to full recovery of the operating characteristics of detector and an increase in the lifetime. A scanning electron microscopy and X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the recovered wire surface were performed. In accordance with the results, a good quality of wire cleaning from SiO 2 compounds was obtained.