We find that high energy background events produce localised sparks in parallel plate counters when operated in the proportional mode. These sparks increased dead-time and lead to degradation ranging from electrode damage to spurious pulsing and continuous breakdown. For the parallel plate imaging detector developed for the European X-ray Observatory Satellite we investigate quantitatively the spark thresholds, spark rates and degradation processes. We discuss the spark mechanism, pointing out differences from the situation in spark chambers and counters. We show that the time profile of the sparks allows us to devise a spark suppression system which reduces the degradation rate by a factor of '200.
The suppression of destructive sparks in parallel proportional counters
Die Unterdrueckung schaedlicher Funken in Parallelplatten-Proportionalzaehlern
IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science ; 31 , 1 ; 107-110
1984
4 Seiten, 4 Bilder, 16 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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