Six Layers P1 Cathode Strip Chamber Prototype (construction and first results)

A full scale six layer Trapezoidal Cathode Strip Chamber Prototype of 0.8m x 1.2m x 3.3m was constructed and tested at Fermilab. The chamber construction and the first results on the chamber characteristics are presented in this paper

Tests of Cathode Strip Chamber Prototypes

We report on the results of testing two six-layer 0.6 x 0.6 cm^2 cathode strip chamber ( CSC) prototypes in a muon beam at CERN. The prototypes were designed to simulate sections of the end-cap muon system of the Compact Muon Solenoid ( CMS) detector which will be installed at the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC). We measured the spatial and time resolutions of each chamber for different gains, different orientations with respect to the beam direction and different strength magnetic fields. The single-layer spatial resolution of a prototype with a strip pitch of 15.88 mm ranged from 78 micron to 468 micron, depending on whether the particle passed between two cathode strips or through the center of a strip; its six-layer resolution was found to be 44 micron. The single-layer spatial resolution of a prototype with a strip pitch of 6.35 mm ranged from 54 to 66 micron; its six-layer resolution w as found to be 23 micron. The efficiency for collecting an anode wire signal from one of six layers within a 20 ns time window appropriate for the LHC was found to be greater than 95% in normal running conditions