Detector system for the study of low energy heavy ion reactions using kinematic coincidence technique

The characteristics and performance of a new detector system developed for the study of low energy heavy ion binary reactions using the kinematic coincidence technique are presented. The detector system has been developed to carry out experiments such as multi-nucleon transfer reactions using the General Purpose Scattering Chamber (GPSC) facility at IUAC [1], [2]. The detector system consists of a pair of two-dimensional position sensitive multi wire proportional counter (MWPC) and a ΔE−E gas ionization chamber. Both MWPC have an active area of 5×5 cm2, and provide position signals in horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) plane, and timing signal for time of flight measurements. The main design feature of MWPC is the reduced wire pitch of 0.025 in. (0.635 mm) in all electrodes, giving uniform field and faster charge collection, and usage of 10μm diameter in anode frame which gives higher gains. The position resolution of the detectors was determined to be 0.45 mm FWHM and time resolution was estimated to be 400 ps FWHM. The detector could handle heavy ion count rates exceeding 100 kHz without any break down. The timing and position signals of the detectors are used for kinematic coincidence measurements and subsequent extraction of their mass and angular distributions. The ionization chamber has a conventional transverse field geometry with segmented anode providing multiple ΔE signals for nuclear charge (Z) identification. This article describes systematic study of these detectors in terms of efficiency, count rate handling capability, time, position and energy resolution.