Electrical breakdown in Thick-GEM based WELL detectors

TL;DR

This paper investigates electrical discharges in Thick-GEM-based WELL detectors, comparing resistive and non-resistive configurations, introducing a new measurement method, and demonstrating discharges and the Raether limit in resistive setups.

Contribution

It presents a novel measurement technique for discharges and provides the first evidence of discharges and the Raether limit in Resistive-Plate WELL detectors.

Findings

Discharges occur in resistive and non-resistive configurations.

A new method effectively measures discharges in resistive detectors.

Discharges in resistive detectors reach the Raether limit.

Abstract

The occurrence of electrical discharges in gas detectors restricts their dynamic range and degrades their performance. Among the different methods developed to mitigate discharge effects, the use of resistive materials in the detector assembly was found to be very effective. In this work, we present the results of a comparative study of electrical discharges in Thick-GEM-based WELL-type detectors - with and without resistive elements. We present a new method to measure discharges in the resistive-detector configurations; it allows demonstrating, for the first time, the occurrence of discharges also in the Resistive-Plate WELL detector configuration. It also provides direct evidence for the Raether limit.