Studies of anode blades for gas proportional detectors

The use of a thin metal edge, or blade, to generate controlled electron multiplication in a gas has been studied. Measurements with X-rays have been made on assemblies of an anode blade and two adjacent cathodes to determine optimum operating parameters in gas proportional mode, with the goal of producing position sensitive detectors with good position resolution and high counting rate. Under specific conditions, energy resolution comparable to that from a wire proportional chamber can be achieved. The devices are very rugged and can be tailored to a curved geometry for the purposes of eliminating parallax error for small and large angle X-ray scattering experiments. The design of detectors suitable for use with synchrotron radiation, is discussed.