The Study of Electronegative Gases for Time Projection Chambers

Abstract

This work presents results on the study of mechanisms and performance of negative ion drift and gas gain in gas-filled radiation detectors with electronegative fill gases. Negative ions drift with slow drift velocity and the lowest possible (thermal limit) diffusion, which leads to relaxed requirements for readout electronics without sacrificing accuracy. Slow drift velocity and low diffusion are the bases for this work because these characteristics are highly desirable for space-based detectors and for low pressure Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) used to make direction sensitive searches for Galactic Dark Matter. The present work led to two major successes: (1) Nitromethane (CH3NO2) was discovered as a new electronegative fill gas for TPCs. Nitromethane anions drift even slower (mobility = 0.032 m2·T/V ·s) than the only other known capture agent, carbon disulfide (CS2, mobility = 0.036 m2·T/V ·s), and the measured longitudinal diffusion remains at the thermodynamic (lower) limit for fields up to 7 V/cmT. Nitromethane is of particular interest for X-ray photoelectric polarimeters in the 2-10 keV energy range because of its low atomic number (Z). (2) Using a Diethorn plot, the mechanism which initiates electron avalanches in electronegative gas mixtures was accounted for. The Diethorn plot parameter Emin, is the minimum field needed to start avalanche gain in a proportional counter. Electronegative gases were found to have extremely large pressure-reduced starting fields (10-50 times larger than electron gases) which are themselves approximately independent of pressure. This can only be accounted for by a collisional ionization mechanism leading to the release of electrons from the ions and subsequent development of gain through a normal Townsend avalanche. The collision cross-section (σc) calculated from drift velocity data allows an estimate of Emin to be made which agrees with the experimental findings (5 - 25 % difference). The light output from Townsend avalanches has been proposed as an alternative readout mechanism for TPCs. The light output from negative ion avalanches was investigated using a Negative Ion Drift Chamber (NIDC) with a Gaseous Electron Multiplier (GEM)-like device as the amplification structure, viewed through a quartz window by a photomultiplier tube. This study allowed an upper limit of light output to be assigned to several negative ion gas mixtures. Finally, a Micromegas NIDC was assembled to test the performance of negative ion mixtures in this gain device. The detector was stable and operated at gas gains of ∼ 104 in an electron gas mixture (argon-isobutane). However, with the two negative ion gases studied, CS2 and CH3NO2, high voltage breakdown and microphonic noise developed before appreciable gain was obtained.