The successful operation of hole-type gaseous detectors at cryogenic temperatures

Abstract

We have demonstrated that hole-type gaseous detectors, gas electron multipliers and capillary plates (CPs) can operate at temperatures down to 77 K. For example, a single CP can operate at gains above 10/sup 3/ in the entire temperature interval between 77 and 300 K. The same CP combined with CsI photocathodes operates perfectly well at gains of 100-1000, depending on the gas mixture. The obtained results open new fields of applications for CPs as detectors of ultraviolet light and charged particles at cryogenic temperatures: liquid noble gas time-projection chambers, detectors for weakly interacting massive particles or liquid Xe scintillating calorimeters, and cryogenic positron-emission tomography.