Characteristics of a high-pressure gas proportional counter filled with xenon

Hirohisa Sakurai; Brian D. Ramsey

doi:10.1117/12.48323

1 October 1991 Characteristics of a high-pressure gas proportional counter filled with xenon

Hirohisa Sakurai, Brian D. Ramsey

Proceedings Volume 1549, EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Instrumentation for Astronomy II; (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.48323
Event: San Diego, '91, 1991, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The characteristics of a conventional cylindrical geometry proportional counter filled with high pressure xenon gas up to 10 atm. were fundamentally investigated for use as a detector in hard X-ray astronomy. With a 2 percent methane gas mixture the energy resolutions at 10 atm. were 9.8 percent and 7.3 percent for 22 keV and 60 keV X-rays, respectively. From calculations of the Townsend ionization coefficient, it is shown that proportional counters at high pressure operate at weaker reduced electric field than low pressure counters. The characteristics of a parallel grid proportional counter at low pressure showed similar pressure dependence. It is suggested that this is the fundamental reason for the degradation of resolution observed with increasing pressure.

Citation Download Citation

Hirohisa Sakurai and Brian D. Ramsey "Characteristics of a high-pressure gas proportional counter filled with xenon", Proc. SPIE 1549, EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Instrumentation for Astronomy II, (1 October 1991); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.48323

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