A MICROSTRIP GAS CHAMBER AS A VUV PHOTOSENSOR FOR A XENON GAS PROPORTIONAL SCINTILLATION-COUNTER

The characteristics of a one-atmosphere xenon gas proportional scintil lation counter (GPSC) instrumented with a novel photosensor are report ed. A microstrip gas chamber (MSGC) with a CsI photocathode deposited directly onto its electrode surface is used in place of the standard p hotomultiplier tube assembly to record the scintillation light from xe non The microstrip electrodes also function as the GPSC second scintil lation grid. The combination results in a simple and compact device th at demonstrates the linear response characteristics of the scintillati on process in xenon.