Transit time of electrons and gas gain effects in P-10 and Ar+CO2

An Electron Mobility Spectrometer (EMS) has been designed to measure the transit time and electron attachment effects in proportional counter fill gases. The aim of the EMS is to observe how electron parameters including the drift velocity, pulse formation time, multiplication gain and electron attachment depend on the gas composition and operating parameters of the EMS. The operating parameters of interest for the EMS include the applied high voltage and gas pressure. Current research interests include the measurement of the time between the generation of the electron-ion pairs and arrival of the electrons at the wire anode in P-10 and Ar+CO2 gases. Additionally, the study of the multiplication properties of the detector as a function of pulse formation time in the two gases and as a function of applied electric field will be presented. The overall objective of this work is to investigate if the gas-gain of a proportional counter can be optimized by minimizing electron attachment with oxygen to improve the measurement of tritium in air.