Further progress in ion back-flow reduction with patterned gaseous hole-multipliers

A new idea on electrostatic deviation and capture of back-drifting avalanche-ions in cascaded gaseous hole-multipliers is presented. It involves a flipped reversed-bias Micro-Hole & Strip Plate (F-R-MHSP) element, the strips of which are facing the drift region of the multiplier. The ions, originating from successive multiplication stages, are efficiently deviated and captured by such electrode. Experimental results are provided comparing the ion-blocking capability of the F-R-MHSP to that of the reversed-bias Micro-Hole & Strip Plate (R-MHSP) and the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM). Best ion-blocking results in cascaded hole-multipliers were reached with a detector having the F-R-MHSP as the first multiplication element. A three-element F-R-MHSP/GEM/MHSP cascaded multiplier operated in atmospheric-pressure Ar/CH4 (95/5), at total gain of ~10^{5}, yielded ion back-flow fractions of 3*10^{-4} and 1.5*10^{-4}, at drift fields of 0.5 and 0.2 kV/cm, respectively. We describe the F-R-MHSP concept and the relevance of the obtained ion back-flow fractions to various applications; further ideas are also discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, published in JINS

Simulation of VUV electroluminescence in micropattern gaseous detectors: the case of GEM and MHSP

Electroluminescence produced during avalanche development in gaseous avalanche detectors is an useful information for triggering, calorimetry and tracking in gaseous detectors. Noble gases present high electroluminescence yields, emitting mainly in the VUV region. The photons can provide signal readout if appropriate photosensors are used. Micropattern gaseous detectors are good candidates for signal amplification in high background and/or low rate experiments due to their high electroluminescence yields and radiopurity. In this work, the VUV light responses of the Gas Electron Multiplier and of the Micro-Hole Strip Plate, working with pure xenon, are simulated and studied in detail using a new and versatile C++ toolkit. It is shown that the solid angle subtended by a photosensor placed below the microstructures depends on the operating conditions. The obtained absolute EL yields, determined for different gas pressures and as functions of the applied voltage, are compared with those determined experimentally.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Instrumentatio

Pressure effect in the X-ray intrinsic position resolution in noble gases and mixtures

A study of the gas pressure effect in the position resolution of an interacting X- or gamma-ray photon in a gas medium is performed. The intrinsic position resolution for pure noble gases (Argon and Xenon) and their mixtures with CO2 and CH4 were calculated for several gas pressures (1-10bar) and for photon energies between 5.4 and 60.0 keV, being possible to establish a linear match between the intrinsic position resolution and the inverse of the gas pressure in that energy range. In order to evaluate the quality of the method here described, a comparison between the available experimental data and the calculated one in this work, is done and discussed. In the majority of the cases, a strong agreement is observed

A dynamic method for charging-up calculations: the case of GEM

The simulation of Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs) signal response is an important and powerful tool for the design and optimization of such detectors. However, several attempts to simulate exactly the effective charge gain have not been completely successful. Namely, the gain stability over time has not been fully understood. Charging-up of the insulator surfaces have been pointed as one of the responsible for the difference between experimental and Monte Carlo results. This work describes two iterative methods to simulate the charging-up in one MPGD device, the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM). The first method uses a constant step for avalanches time evolution, very detailed, but slower to compute. The second method uses a dynamic step that improves the computing time. Good agreement between both methods was reached. Despite of comparison with experimental results shows that charging-up plays an important role in detectors operation, should not be the only responsible for the difference between simulated and measured effective gain, but explains the time evolution in the effective gain.Comment: Minor changes in grammatical statements and inclusion of some important information about experimental setup at section "Comparison with experimental results

The Resistive-Plate WELL with Argon mixtures - a robust gaseous radiation detector

A thin single-element THGEM-based, Resistive-Plate WELL (RPWELL) detector was operated with 150 GeV/c muon and pion beams in Ne/(5%CH$_4$), Ar/(5%CH$_4$) and Ar/(7%CO$_2$); signals were recorded with 1 cm$^2$ square pads and SRS/APV25 electronics. Detection efficiency values greater than 98% were reached in all the gas mixtures, at average pad multiplicity of 1.2. The use of the 10$^9${\Omega}cm resistive plate resulted in a completely discharge-free operation also in intense pion beams. The efficiency remained essentially constant at 98-99% up to fluxes of $\sim$10$^4$Hz/cm$^2$, dropping by a few % when approaching 10$^5$ Hz/cm$^2$. These results pave the way towards cost-effective, robust, efficient, large-scale detectors for a variety of applications in future particle, astro-particle and applied fields. A potential target application is digital hadron calorimetry.Comment: presented at the 2016 VIenna Conf. On instrumentation. Submitted to the Conference proceeding

Capacidade de absorção de nutrientes do capim-marandu (Brachiaria brizantha) e da planta daninha Malva (Urena lobata) em função do pH.

A capacidade competitiva entre plantas daninhas e cultivadas é influenciada por vários fatores, entre eles o pH do meio onde as plantas crescem. Dessa forma, analisaram-se os efeitos da variação do pH sobre o desenvolvimento e os teores dos nutrientes fósforo, potássio, cálcio e magnésio acumulado na parte aérea e nas raízes do capim-marandu (Brachiaria brizantha) e da planta daninha malva (Urena lobata). Para isso, foram preparadas soluções nutritivas com os seguintes valores de pH: 3,5; 4,5; 5,5; e 6,5. Os trabalhos foram conduzidos em casa de vegetação, por um período experimental de 42 dias. A gramínea forrageira e a planta daninha responderam diferentemente à variação do pH. O capim-marandu apresentou maior sensibilidade às variações do pH, tendo sido a produção de matéria seca da parte aérea e das raízes sempre crescente em função do aumento do pH. Por sua vez, a produção de matéria seca das duas frações da planta daninha não foi influenciada pela variação do pH. Comparativamente, o capim-marandu apresentou maior habilidade para absorver nutrientes em pH 6,5, enquanto a malva apresentou maior habilidade em condições de pH extremo (3,5 e 6,5). Independentemente do pH da solução nutritiva e da parte da planta analisada, os teores de fósforo, potássio, cálcio e magnésio foram, quase sempre, mais elevados na planta daninha do que no capim-marandu, demonstrando que a malva apresenta maior habilidade para extrair esses nutrientes do sol

Resposta da laranjeira à adubação nitrogenada e potássica em latossolo amarelo no Nordeste Paraense.

bitstream/item/28241/1/BPD61.pdfDisponível também on-line

Propriedades químicas de um latossolo amarelo cultivado com pastagens na Amazônia Oriental.

A pesquisa foi conduzida com o objetivo de avaliar as modificações das propriedades químicas de um Latossolo Amarelo com cultivo de pastagens, submetidos a dois modelos de sistemas rotacionados, nos períodos chuvoso e seco, um com Brachiaria brizantha e o outro com Panicum maximum, nos anos de 1996 e 1997. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados, com os tratamentos dispostos num esquema de parcelas subdivididas, com doze repetições. As parcelas foram constituídas pelas forrageiras braquiarão e tobiatã e as subparcelas foram constituídas pelos períodos chuvoso e seco dentro de cada ano. Para o estudo das propriedades químicas do solo, foram coletadas amostras nos períodos chuvoso e seco. O material orgânico incorporado ao solo através de restos de vegetais e a presença de excremento animal alterou as propriedades químicas nos anos estudados. Os teores de Ca, Mg, K, P, MO e o valor de pH foram maiores no ano de 1997. Teores mais elevados de Ca e Mg foram obtidos no sistema de pastejo com tobiatã do que no sistema com braquiarão. No período chuvoso os teores de Mg, K, MO e o valor de pH foram maiores, com exceção de P e Ca para o ano de 1997

Simulation of gain stability of THGEM gas-avalanche particle detectors

Charging-up processes affecting gain stability in Thick Gas Electron Multipliers (THGEM) were studied with a dedicated simulation toolkit. Integrated with Garfield++, it provides an effective platform for systematic phenomenological studies of charging-up processes in MPGD detectors. We describe the simulation tool and the fine-tuning of the step-size required for the algorithm convergence, in relation to physical parameters. Simulation results of gain stability over time in THGEM detectors are presented, exploring the role of electrode-thickness and applied voltage on its evolution. The results show that the total amount of irradiated charge through electrode's hole needed for reaching gain stabilization is in the range of tens to hundreds of pC, depending on the detector geometry and operational voltage. These results are in agreement with experimental observations presented previously

High-pressure operation of a xenon-GPSC/MSGC hybrid detector for hard X-ray spectrometry

The performance of a high-pressure xenon gas proportional scintillation counter/microstrip gas chamber (GPSC/MSGC) hybrid detector has been investigated for filling pressures from 1 up to 10 bar, for 22-, 30- and 60-keV photons. GPSC/MSGC hybrid detectors are based on a xenon-GPSC instrumented with a CsI-coated microstrip plate photosensor placed directly within the xenon envelope, as a substitute for the photomultiplier tube. This design avoids the constraints due to the use of a quartz scintillation window for GPSC-photosensor coupling, which absorbs a significant amount of scintillation and is a drawback for applications where large detection areas and high filling pressures are needed. The lowest energy resolutions are achieved for 2 bar (5.5% and 3.4%, FWHM, for 22- and 60-keV photons, respectively). Increasing the pressure to the 5-6 bar range, competitive energy resolutions of 7% and 4.5% are still achieved for 22- and 60-keV photons, respectively. This detector could be a compelling alternative in applications where compactness, large detection area, insensitivity to strong magnetic fields, room temperature operation, large signal-to-noise ratio and good energy resolution are important requirements.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TJM-4M3B6DG-8/1/04ba8b77386c4c69025c7ca19342f79