A new kind of Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) has been built for the large-area Muon Telescope Detector (MTD) for the STAR experiment at RHIC. These long read-out strip MRPCs (LMRPCs) have an active area of 87.0 x 17.0 cm2 and ten 250 um-thick gas gaps arranged as a double stack. Each read-out strip is 2.5 cm wide and 90 cm long. The signals are read-out at both ends of each strip. Cosmic ray tests indicate a time resolution of ~70 ps and a detection efficiency of greater than 95%. Beam tests performed at T963 at Fermilab indicate a time resolution of 60-70 ps and a spatial resolution of ~1 cm along the strip direction.
In this paper we propose a new concept for streamer quenching in Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). In our approach, the multiplication process is quenched by the appropriate design of a mechanical structure inserted between the two resistive electrodes. We show that stable performance is achieved with binary gas mixtures based on argon and a small fraction of isobutane. Fluorocarbons, deemed responsible for the degradation of the electrode inner surface of RPC detectors, are thus fully eliminated from the gas mixture. This design {also resulted} in a simplified assembly procedure. Preliminary results obtained with a few prototypes of ``Mechanically Quenched RPCs and some prospects for future developments are discussed.
A prototype of Multi-strip Multi-gap Resistive Plate chamber (MMRPC) with active area 40 cm $times$ 20 cm has been developed at SINP, Kolkata. Detailed response of the developed detector was studied with the pulsed electron beam from ELBE at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. In this report the response of SINP developed MMRPC with different controlling parameters is described in details. The obtained time resolution ($sigma_t$) of the detector after slew correction was 91.5$ pm $3 ps. Position resolution measured along ($sigma_x$) and across ($sigma_y$) the strip was 2.8$pm$0.6 cm and 0.58 cm, respectively. The measured absolute efficiency of the detector for minimum ionizing particle like electron was 95.8$pm$1.3 $%$. Better timing resolution of the detector can be achieved by restricting the events to a single strip. The response of the detector was mainly in avalanche mode but a few percentage of streamer mode response was also observed. A comparison of the response of these two modes with trigger rate was studied
The Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) muon subsystem contributes significantly to the formation of the trigger decision and reconstruction of the muon trajectory parameters. Simulation of the RPC response is a crucial part of the entire CMS Monte Carlo software and directly influences the final physical results. An algorithm based on the parametrization of RPC efficiency, noise, cluster size and timing for every strip has been developed. Experimental data obtained from cosmic and proton-proton collisions at $sqrt{s}=7$ TeV have been used for determination of the parameters. A dedicated validation procedure has been developed. A good agreement between the simulated and experimental data has been achieved.
The DHCAL, the Digital Hadron Calorimeter, is a prototype calorimeter based on Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). The design emphasizes the imaging capabilities of the detector in an effort to optimize the calorimeter for the application of Particle Flow Algorithms (PFAs) to the reconstruction of hadronic jet energies in a colliding beam environment. The readout of the chambers is segmented into 1 x 1 cm2 pads, each read out with a 1-bit (single threshold) resolution. The prototype with approximately 500,000 readout channels underwent extensive testing in both the Fermilab and CERN test beams. This talk presents preliminary findings from the analysis of data collected at the test beams.
The Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) is an advanced form of Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detector where the gas gap is divided into sub-gaps. MRPCs are known for their good time resolution and detection efficiency for charged particles. They have found suitable applications in several high energy physics experiments like ALICE in LHC, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, and STAR in RHIC, BNL, USA. As they have very good time resolution and are of low cost, they can be a suitable replacement for very expensive scintillators used in Positron Emission Tomography Imaging. The MRPCs that are being used nowadays are developed with glass electrodes. We have made an attempt to develop a 6-gap MRPC using bakelite electrodes. The outer electrodes are of dimensions 15 cm $times$ 15 cm $times$ 0.3 cm and the inner electrodes are of dimension 14 cm $times$ 14 cm $times$ 0.05 cm. The glossy finished electrode surfaces have not been treated with any oil like linseed, silicone for smoothness. The performance of the detector has been studied measuring the efficiency, noise rate and time resolution with cosmic rays. This effort is towards the development of a prototype for Positron Emission Tomography with the Time-Of-Flight technique using MRPCs. Details of the development procedure and performance studies have been presented here.