MULTILAYER ELECTROLUMINESCENCE CAMERA - CONCEPT AND MONTE-CARLO STUDY

A concept for a multilayer electroluminescent camera (MELC) for x- and low energy gamma-ray imaging is presented. The MELC contains a stacke d electrode structure immersed in a pressurized noble gas. The electro des are made of a thin foil covered by photodetector arrays. A particu lar design of the MELC based on wave-shifting fiber arrays optically c oupled to external photodetectors is considered. The MELC allows about a 1-mm three-dimensional position resolution with an energy resolutio n roughly 1-2% at 140 keV, The number of readout channels can be no mo re than 300 per layer per square meter of held of view. Total detectio n efficiency depends on the number of layers and the gas pressure and fare be comparable to that of solid state detectors. The count rate ca n be anp to 10 MHz per layer. Computer simulations, undertaken to stud y the feasibility of the MELC, and potential applications are describe d.