Gas scintillation proportional counters for energy, position and time resolved X-ray spectroscopy

Medical applications and many atomic collision experiments require energy, position and time resolving X-ray detectors with a large active volume, in the energy-range from 5 to over 500 keV. We report on the improvements in the readout of a high pressure xenon filled gas scintillation proportional counter. The implementation of an imaging optic for the UV-scintillation light has improved the position resolution by more than 30%. Microstructure devices like the gas electron multiplier allow the use of a multi-step UV-photon detector inside the pure noble gas environment to simplify the detector setup and improve the long term stability.