Optical Imaging Capillary Plate Gas Detector

A capillary plate (CP) gas detector with a CF₄ gas mixture of argon and pure xenon has been successfully operated as a visible and near-infrared (NIR) scintillation proportional counter. Gas gains of up to 10⁴ can be achieved using these gas mixtures. The scintillation light emitted during the generation of electron avalanches can be observed using a photomultiplier tube (PMT) and a compact optical imaging system which consists of a CP gas detector and a cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera coupled to lens optics. Using this optical imaging system, clearer images of X-rays have been obtained with the above gas mixtures. The successful operation using these gas mixtures has allowed us to realize a novel imaging device with a CP for medical imaging and gaseous PMTs sensitive to visible light.