Self-Quenching Halogen-Filled Counters

Abstract

Counters filled with small percentages of the halogens mixed with the inert gases produced self-quenching counters. The lifetimes of these counters in terms of total counts are apparently unlimited. Several mixtures exhibited thresholds below 250 volts at total pressures ordinarily used in counters. Pulse size, efficiency, and quenching characteristics are similar to those obtained with argon-alcohol Geiger-Mueller counters filled with a ten percent mixture to total pressures in excess of 10 cm Hg. The percentages of halogens required to make good counters were about the same as the optimum concentrations reported* for quenching metastable states in the rare gases.