Studies of the gain properties of gas microstrip detectors relevant to their application as X-ray and electron detectors

The gas microstrip detector (GMSD) makes an excellent planar (position sensitive) amplifier of incident electron clouds because both the anodic and cathodic gain-defining elements are produced lithographically on the same rigid substrate. We have studied the dependence of the gas gain and pulse height resolution of the plate as a function of various geometric and gas parameters. The results show that a GMSD can be made very insensitive to the shape of the drift electrode, allowing it to be used in a wide variety of applications. An example of an electron-yield XAFS study is given. The aim of this work is to produce a well defined technology platform from which to build detectors that meet the requirements of high flux synchrotron radiation and neutron facilities, both of which are key CLRC facilities.