Vibration-proof high-pressure xenon electroluminescence detector

We have developed a high-pressure [electroluminescence (EL)] detector with a sensitive volume of O5 cm×5 cm defined by a cathode, five drift rings, and an EL-generating structure. The EL-generating structure consists of two parallel-plate chemically etched grids and a high-pressure optical window, which is optically coupled to an external photomultiplier tube. Ionizing radiation that is absorbed in the sensitive volume generates electrons, which drift into the EL region and produce an EL flash. The detector was filled with 20-bar Xe gas that was highly purified (>1 ms electron-life time) using a spark purification technique. To evaluate the potential for using an EL detector under adverse conditions, we disturbed the detector using a 10-W electric engraver working at 60 Hz. The action of the engraver had practically no effect on spectra acquired from an ²⁴¹Am gamma ray source.