Operation of drift chambers with helium based mixtures

Helium based gas mixtures have been investigated for lowering multiple scattering contributions to the momentum resolution for intermediate energy particles. The relevant transport parameters, namely drift velocity and diffusion have been calculated for several mixtures and compared to standard argon based mixtures. Some fast, low diffusion mixtures have been identified. The small Lorentz angle computed make them promising candidates for drift chamber operation in magnetic fields. Measurements on high accuracy drift chambers in a test beam with a helium-DME (dimethyl ether) (70-30) mixture have resulted in a spatial resolution ranging from 70 μm to 100 μm