High-rate heavy-ion tracking using MWPCs and PPACs with an Anti-Discharge Unit
This work reports on the development of two robust, heavy-ion beam tracking concepts operating at low pressure (< 15 Torr) for high rate applications (> 200 kHz). The first concept consists of a Multi-Wire Proportional Counter (MWPC) with a central anode consisting of 12 μm Au-plated Tungsten wires spaced 1 mm from each other. The anode grid is sandwiched between two segmented cathodes aligned orthogonally in the two dimensions for (x,y) particle localization. The second detector is a Parallel-Plate Avalanche Counter (PPAC) that uses the same readout geometry as the MWPC, but replaces the wire anode with a 150 nm silver layer deposited on both sides of a thin (< 1 mg/cm 2 ) polypropylene foil. Additionally, the bias circuitry for the PPAC anode central foil is equipped with an Anti-Discharge Unit (ADU) to prevent transitions from proportional operation to streamer formation, thereby avoiding damaging discharges. The localization capability of both detectors was tested with a low-rate alpha-particle source (241-Am). A position resolution of < 1 mm (FWHM) was achieved under stable, high-gas-gain (> 1000) operating conditions. Their performance in terms of detection efficiency as a function of the isotope charge (Z) was determined by irradiating the detectors with a cocktail beam (Z ≤ 15) with energy of ∼ 100 MeV/u. Full detection efficiency is maintained for all available fragments under optimal operational conditions (i.e., voltage bias). Full detection efficiency was achieved at rates above 200 kHz by irradiating the detectors with a 1 cm diameter 238 U beam at an energy of 143 MeV/u.