High-resolution timing of MIPs with RPCs - a model

Resistive Plate Chambers made with glass and metal electrodes forming accur ately spaced gas gaps of a few hundred micrometers have reached timing accu racies below 50 ps sigma with efficiencies above 95%. This type of detector , operating at atmospheric pressure with non-flammable gases, seems well su ited for large-area TOF systems, providing performances comparable to the e xisting scintillator-based TOF technology but with significantly lon er pri ce per channel. Ln this work Re discuss the principles of operation and des cribe the performance of several chamber configurations. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.