Response of proportional and streamer tubes to laser induced high ionization tracks

The use of an intense XeCl laser provided a unique way to produce large primary ionization in a streamer tube. The response of a proportional tube was also studied as a function of the laser intensity for calibration purposes and to better understand the physical processes involved in the excitation-ionization mechanisms in the gas mixtures. Up to ionization powers as large as hundreds of m.i.p, the streamer tube response was shown to be logarithmic.