We briefly review the concept and properties of the Thick GEM (THGEM); it is
a robust, high-gain gaseous electron multiplier, manufactured economically by
standard printed-circuit drilling and etching technology. Its operation and
structure resemble that of GEMs but with 5 to 20-fold expanded dimensions. The
millimeter-scale hole-size results in good electron transport and in large
avalanche-multiplication factors, e.g. reaching 10^7 in double-THGEM cascaded
single-photoelectron detectors. The multiplier's material, parameters and shape
can be application-tailored; it can operate practically in any counting gas,
including noble gases, over a pressure range spanning from 1 mbar to several
bars; its operation at cryogenic (LAr) conditions was recently demonstrated.
The high gain, sub-millimeter spatial resolution, high counting-rate
capability, good timing properties and the possibility of industrial production
capability of large-area robust detectors, pave ways towards a broad spectrum
of potential applications; some are discussed here in brief.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures; Invited Review at INSTR08, Novosibirsk, Feb
28-March 5 200
Thick GEM-like (THGEM) gaseous electron multipliers are made of standard printed-circuit board perforated with sub-millimeter diameter holes, etched at their rims. Effective gas multiplication factors of 10 5 and 10 7 and fast pulses in the few nanosecond rise-time scale were reached in single-and cascaded double-THGEM elements, in atmospheric-pressure standard gas mixtures with single photoelectrons. High single-electron detection efficiency is obtained in photon detectors combining THGEMs and semitransparent UVsensitive CsI photocathodes or reflective ones deposited on the top THGEM face; the latter benefits of a reduced sensitivity to ionizing background radiation. Stable operation was recorded with photoelectron fluxes exceeding MHz/mm 2 . The properties and some potential applications of these simple and robust multipliers are discussed. r
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