Mass discrimination using double-sided silicon microstrip detectors for pions and protons at intermediate energies

Prototype silicon detector modules for the vertex detector of the FINUDA experiment were tested at TRIUMF using pions and protons at 270 and 408 MeV/c in order to study their use for mass discrimination based on energy deposition. The detector modules were constructed using double-sided silicon detectors based on the ALEPH design, read out by VA1 integrated circuits. The test modules and apparatus are described, details of the data analysis are discussed, and the results are presented together with GEANT simulations. Particular attention is given to the detector response for the various particles, with signals ranging from the minimum-ionising pions at 408 MeV/c up to 20 times minimum-ionising for the protons at 270 MeV/c.