Performance of a First Microhexcavity Plasma Panel Detector with Muons

TL;DR

This paper evaluates a microhexcavity plasma panel detector's efficiency and response to muons and beta radiation, demonstrating high efficiency and stable operation in gaseous detection of ionizing particles.

Contribution

It presents the first performance assessment of a microhexcavity plasma panel detector with muons, highlighting its high efficiency and operational characteristics.

Findings

Pixel efficiency of 96.8% for muons at >1000 V

Stable rate response with cosmic ray muons

Effective detection of ionizing radiation using Penning gas mixture

Abstract

The microhexcavity plasma panel detector is a type of gaseous particle detector consisting of a close-packed array of millimeter-size hexagonal cells. The cells are biased to operate in Geiger mode where each cell functions as an independent detection unit. The response of the detector to ionizing radiation was investigated using low-energy radioactive $ \beta $ sources and cosmic ray muons. Efficiency measurements were conducted with cosmic ray muons in conjunction with a scintillator hodoscope. The rate response and signals obtained from the microhexcavity detector filled with Penning gas mixture at atmospheric pressure are herein described. The relative pixel efficiency, after allowing for ion-pair formation in the gas volume, is 96.8 $ \pm $ 4.4$ \% $ for operation of the detector above an applied high voltage of 1000 V.