Particle identification using the ΔE-E technique and pulse shape discrimination with the silicon detectors of the FAZIA project

The response of silicon-silicon-CsI(Tl) and silicon-CsI(Tl) telescopes to fragments produced in nuclear interactions has been studied. The telescopes were developed within the FAZIA collaboration. The capabilities of two methods are compared: (a) the standard ΔE-E technique and (b) the digital Pulse Shape Analysis technique (for identification of nuclear fragments stopped in a single Si-layer). In a test setup, nuclear fragments covering a large range in nuclear charge, mass and energy were detected. They were produced in nuclear reactions induced by a 35A MeV beam of 129Xe impinging on various targets. It was found that the ΔE-E correlations allow the identification of all isotopes up to Z∼25. With the digital Pulse Shape Analysis it is possible to fully distinguish the charge of stopped nuclei up to the maximum available Z (slightly over that of the beam, Z=54).