Performance study of a single layer THGEM detector at E3 line of Beijing Test Beam Facility

A single layer THick Gaseous Electron Multiplier (THGEM) detector has been studied at E3 line of Beijing Test Beam Facility (BTBF). The responses of the detector to p and π+π+ at momenta 400 MeV/c, 500 MeV/c, 600 MeV/c and 700 MeV/c were investigated at different detector drift distances: 5 mm and 3 mm, the working gas was Neon/CH4 (95/5). The p/π+p/π+ particles were identified through Time of Flight (TOF) method using plastic scintillation detectors. Energy spectra of different particles at various momenta were studied, and they were compared with Geant4 simulation results. Detection efficiencies for p were measured to be about 97% for 5 mm drift distance, and 91% for 3 mm. Detection efficiencies for π+π+ were lower, in the range of 84%–92%. Based on the beam test results, the THGEM detector showed performances satisfying the requirements of a Digital Hadron CALorimeters (DHCAL) in future experiments.