Tests of cathode strip chamber prototypes

We report on the results of testing two six-layer 0.6 × 0.6 m2 cathode strip chamber (CSC) prototypes in a muon beam at CERN. The prototypes were designed to simulate sections of the end-cap muon system of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector which will be installed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We measured the spatial and time resolutions of each chamber for different gains, different orientations with respect to the beam direction and different strength magnetic fields. The single-layer spatial resolution of a prototype with a strip pitch of 15.88 mm ranged from 78 to 468 μm, depending on whether the particle passed between two cathode strips or through the center of a strip; its six-layer resolution was found to be 44 μm. The single-layer spatial resolution of a prototype with a strip pitch of 6.35 mm ranged from 54 to 66 μm; its six-layer resolution was found to be 23 μm. The efficiency for collecting an anode wire signal from one of six layers within a 20 ns time window appropriate for the LHC was found to be greater than 95% in normal running conditions.