First results with RPC prototypes for the detection of relativistic heavy-ions at the R3B experiment

RPC prototypes for the iToF detector at the future R3B-FAIR experiment have been investigated using relativistic heavy ions produced in the fragmentation of 238U projectiles in a Pb target, at 750 A MeV. Their efficiency and the avalanche/streamer ratio have been studied in a wide range of nuclear charges from Z=1 up to Z=38.