Effect of relative humidity on the long-term operation of a single mask triple GEM chamber

TL;DR

This study investigates how relative humidity affects the long-term gain and energy resolution of a single mask triple GEM detector using Ar/CO2 gas mixture, with implications for detector stability.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the impact of humidity on GEM detector performance, including experimental data and analysis of long-term operation effects.

Findings

Humidity influences detector gain and energy resolution.

Temperature and pressure corrections are essential for accurate measurements.

Results inform better environmental control for GEM detector stability.

Abstract

The characteristic studies of a Single Mask~(SM) triple Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector are carried out using Ar/CO$_2$ gas mixture in 70/30 volume ratio in continuous flow mode. A Fe$^{55}$ X-ray source is used for this work. The gain and energy resolution are studied from the 5.9 keV X-ray energy spectra. After correcting the effects of temperature and pressure variation, the effect of relative humidity on the gain and energy resolution of the chamber is investigated. The details of the experimental setup, measurement methods and results are presented in this article.