Study of energy straggling and multiple scattering in silicon microstrip detectors

The performance of silicon microstrip detectors in electron and pion beams of momenta up to 50 GeV has been studied. Results are compared to full GEANT simulations. The energy loss straggling in silicon wafers is compared to the Urbلn and PAI models. Productions of delta-ray electrons and electron-positron pairs by 50 GeV electrons, seen as multi-cluster events, are compared to GEANT calculations. The spatial resolution is determined with the detector intrinsic resolution simulated by Gaussian smearing and the multiple scattering calculated by Molière theory. The deflection due to multiple scattering in crystalline structure was investigated by placing a GaAs wafer at various angles between active detectors. Larger deflection is seen in data of inclined tracks at 45° to the silicon crystalline plane.