Title :
Heavy Ion and Proton Irradiation of Gas Electron Multipliers With Liquid Crystal Polymer Insulator: Evaluation Tests for Use in Space
Author :
Iwahashi, T. ; Tamagawa, T. ; Hayato, A. ; Nakamura, S. ; Konami, S. ; Asami, F. ; Yasuda, N. ; Kitamura, H. ; Sakurai, H. ; Tokanai, F. ; Miyasaka, H. ; Makishima, K.
Author_Institution :
RIKEN (The Inst. of Phys. & Chem. Res.), Wako, Japan
Abstract :
Gas electron multipliers with a liquid crystal polymer insulator (LCP-GEMs) can be employed as X-ray polarimeters in several satellite missions in low-earth orbit. To evaluate their resistance to radiation, LCP-GEMs were exposed to Fe ion and proton beams from the heavy-ion accelerator facility HIMAC, and the gas gain was monitored. The LCP-GEMs survived 14.4-year-equivalent irradiation by fully stripped Fe ions with an energy of 500 MeV nuc-1, which simulated galactic cosmic-ray ions. We also studied the degradation of the insulator layer of the LCP-GEMs by irradiation with 160 MeV protons to simulate geomagnetically trapped protons. After irradiation with protons for 31.6 years equivalent, no significant change in gain was observed.
Keywords :
galactic cosmic rays; ionisation chambers; polymer insulators; position sensitive particle detectors; proton effects; Fe ion; Gas Electron Multipliers; HIMAC; X-ray polarimeters; galactic cosmic-ray ions; geomagnetically trapped protons; heavy-ion accelerator facility; liquid crystal polymer insulator; low-earth orbit; proton beams; proton irradiation; Detectors; Discharges; Ions; Iron; Protons; Radiation effects; Satellites; GEM; GEMS satellite; Gas electron multiplier; space application; x-ray polarimeter;
Journal_Title :
Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TNS.2011.2162001
