Progress with micro-pattern gas detectors

Abstract Micro-pattern gas detectors are position-sensitive proportional counters whose sense electrodes are constructed using micro-electronics, thin-film or advanced PCB techniques. The feature size attainable using these methods is of the order of a few microns and the detectors demonstrate excellent spatial resolution and fast charge collection. We review recent progress on micro-pattern gas detectors for tracking and other cross-disciplinary applications, focussing on design principles, performance and limitations. A short list of interesting applications is discussed

A versatile facility for the calibration of X-ray polarimeters with polarized and unpolarized controlled beams

We devised and built a versatile facility for the calibration of the next generation X-ray polarimeters with unpolarized and polarized radiation. The former is produced at 5.9 keV by means of a Fe55 radioactive source or by X-ray tubes, while the latter is obtained by Bragg diffraction at nearly 45 degrees. Crystals tuned with the emission lines of X-ray tubes with molybdenum, rhodium, calcium and titanium anodes are employed for the efficient production of highly polarized photons at 2.29, 2.69, 3.69 and 4.51 keV respectively. Moreover the continuum emission is exploited for the production of polarized photons at 1.65 keV and 2.04 keV and at energies corresponding to the higher orders of diffraction. The photons are collimated by means of interchangeable capillary plates and diaphragms, allowing a trade-off between collimation and high fluxes. The direction of the beam is accurately arranged by means of high precision motorized stages, controlled via computer so that long and automatic measurements can be done. Selecting the direction of polarization and the incidence point we can map the response of imaging devices to both polarized and unpolarized radiation. Changing the inclination of the beam we can study the systematic effects due to the focusing of grazing incidence optics and the feasibility of instruments with large field of view.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure

A MWPC with a cathode coupled delay line read-out as radioactivity detector for DNA repair studies

A non selective method for the isolation of DNA repair-deficient mutants in mammalian cells is discussed. The method requires radioactive labelling of the short DNA sequences synthesized during repair of damaged regions. Mutants should be recognized by the absence of radioactive incorporation into thier DNA. A multiwire proportional chamber (MWPC) is proposed as a suitable radioactivity detector. The performance of a MWPC prototype with a cathode coupled delay line read-out is described and is shown to be adequate for this application. The main avaantages of a MWPC are reviewed with respect to other methods used for β− radioactivity counting of biological samples, such as liquid scintillators or autoradiography: the proposed detection method is non destructive for the cells, which are being kept alive for further biological studies; furthermore many cell clones can be screened within a reasonable time

ELECTRONIC AUTORADIOGRAPHY OF LIVING HUMAN-CELLS WITH A MWPC

Abstract The use of multiwire proportional chamber (MWPC) for mapping the incorporation of a radioactive precursor of DNA biosynthesis by aggregates of cells is discussed. The resolving power, sensitivity and linearity of the developed system are shown, together with preliminary "electronic autoradiograms" of 14C-labelled cells

DNA-repair deficient cells identification with a multiwire proportional chamber

Abstract Tritium labelled mammalian cells with defective repair of UV-induced damage have been identified by using a MWPC as a position sensitive radioactivity detector. The resolving power (≅1.5mm FWHM), sensitivity (≅101Bq/cm2), efficiency (≅10%) and uniformity (≅4%) of the detection system are shown and "electronic autoradiograms" of normal and mutant cultures are presented; cells, rescued after the radioactivity measurement, retain their cloning ability

Measurement of the position resolution of the Gas Pixel Detector

The Gas Pixel Detector was designed and built as a focal plane instrument for X-ray polarimetry of celestial sources, the last unexplored subtopics of X-ray astronomy. It promises to perform detailed and sensitive measurements resolving extended sources and detecting polarization in faint sources in crowded fields at the focus of telescopes of good angular resolution. Its polarimetric and spectral capability were already studied in earlier works. Here we investigate for the first time, with both laboratory measurements and Monte Carlo simulations, its imaging properties to confirm its unique capability to carry out imaging spectral-polarimetry in future X-ray missions.Comment: Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A; 15 figures, 3 table

Techniques and detectors for polarimetry in X-ray astronomy

Polarimeters flown so far were based on the Thomson scattering and Bragg diffraction with intrinsically limited sensitivity. In the present paper, we review the experiments based on those techniques and discuss possible optimization and implementation for X-ray astronomy