A New Particle Identifier Technique for Z = 1 and Z = 2 Particles in the Energy Range > 10 MeV

Abstract

Protons, deuterons, tritons, helium-3, and a particles produced in nuclear reactions have previously been identified by use of ΔE and E counters to determine dE/dx and E. Multiplying these together produces an output that is dependent on the type of particle. This technique is based on the theoretical relationship between dE/dx, E, and the mass and charge of the particle. Unfortunately there is an obvious re striction on the technique, since dE/dx changes as the particle passes through the ΔE counter. For the E(dE/dx) product to have any real meaning, the ΔE counter must be thin and absorb only a small part of the total energy. This limits the use of this technique in a given experiment to small energy ranges and to selected types of particle. The new identifier also uses a ΔE (thickness T) and E counter, but employs the empirical relationship, Range = a E1.73, where a depends on the type of particle. Using this relationship, one can show T/a = (E +ΔE)1.73 - E1.73. The identifier employs logarithmic elements to calculate this quantity and to produce an output that has a fixed value for each type of particle. The thickness of the ΔE counter is not limited to a very small value, and the identifier can cope with mixtures of all five types of particle, each covering a fairly wide energy range.