HIGH-RATE OPERATION OF MICRO-STRIP GAS-CHAMBERS ON DIAMOND-COATED GLASS

Very high rate operation of micro-strip gas chambers can be achieved u sing slightly conducting substrates. We describe preliminary measureme nts realized with detectors manufactured on bore-silicate glass coated , before the photo-lithographic processing, with a diamond layer havin g a surface resistivity of around 10(14) Omega/square. Stable medium-t erm operation, and a rate capability largely exceeding the one obtaine d with identical plates manufactured on uncoated glass are demonstrate d. If these results are confirmed by long-term measurements, the diamo nd coating technology appears very attractive since it allows, with a moderate cost overhead, to use thin, commercially available glass with the required surface quality for the large-scale production of gas mi cro-strip detectors.