The micro-gap wire chamber

A new gas chamber configuration is described. It combines the geometry of the classical multiwire proportional chambers and one of the recently developed micro-gap chambers. These new chambers consist of a cathode and an anode wire plane separated by thin dielectric strips. The anode shape restores the cylindrical electric field configuration of the multiwire proportional chambers lost by the micro-gap chambers due to their flat anode shape. Gas gains higher than 105 have been obtained under stable conditions allowing the detection of single electrons. Using a current preamplifier, fast and short signals have been observed.