A broad-range detector system with large geometric efficiency for heavy-ion reaction studies

L. Potvin, G. C. Ball, W. G. Davies, J. S. Forster, E. Hagberg, D. Horn, M. A. Lone, M. Montaigne, G. A. Sims, M. G. Steer, R. J. Toone, R. Roy, C. St-Pierre, A. Galindo-Uribarri

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A detector module sensitive to heavy ions, capable of covering a very large solid angle, and having a broad dynamic range in energy and atomic number has been designed and tested. It is tapered, has a pentagonal cross section and has been constructed to permit close-packing in a spherical array with a minimum of inactive area. The detector consists of a radial-field drift chamber for Bragg-curve spectroscopy, followed by a thin fast-plastic scintillator laminated to a thick slow-plastic scintillator for light-ion detection; the two scintillators are read together in phoswich Δ E - E mode. Mixed-mode operation is also possible, with the drift chamber serving as a ΔE counter and the fast plastic scintillator providing an energy signal. Tests with a beam of 145 MeV 28Si ions have shown that for 83% geometric efficiency (active/total solid angle) the Bragg curve spectrometer gives Δ Z Z {reversed tilde equals} 5% at Z = 12 and Δ E E {reversed tilde equals} 6% for silicon ions depositing 100 MeV in the detector. Mixed mode operation has 70% geometric efficiency with a measured Δ Z Z {reversed tilde equals} 5% for Z = 8. Phoswich mode operation also has 70% geometric efficiency and gives Δ Z Z {reversed tilde equals} 6% for Z = 2; isotopic identification of light ions is unambiguous.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)359-366
Number of pages8
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume281
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 1989
Externally publishedYes

Funding

L. Potvin acknowledges a post-doctoral fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and visitor's support from AECL, Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories .

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