Design, instrumentation, and the light response of the Heavy-Ion detector array inside the Big-Bite Spectrometer

A phoswich array consisting of 60 elements has been built and used in pionic-fusion experiments at the Kernfysisch Versneller Instituut (KVI). The array is used in conjunction with a magnetic spectrometer and a time-of-flight system to measure the fragments produced in 3He+4He and 4He+6Li reactions at beam energies of 85.3 and 59.1 A MeV, respectively. The particle identification for Z ≤ 5 has been performed by means of time-of-flight and pulse-shape analysis techniques. A momentum resolution of ∼ 1 % was achieved. The dependence of the integrated light output on ion energy, momentum, and mass has been studied. The detector performance, light response, ion identification, momentum and time calibration, and acceptance of the Heavy-Ion detector array are presented and discussed.