Hydrocarbon polymerization on drift chamber wires

https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-9002(85)90463-2Get rights and content

Abstract

A drift chamber which serves as a trigger for the time projection chamber (TPC) at the PEP storage ring at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center became inoperative during beam running due to recurring discharges. Visual examination of chamber wires revealed “whisker” growths and numerous black deposits. More detailed examination by mass spectroscopy and ion beam spectroscopy has shown that polymerized hydrocarbons similar to polyethylene are generally present on all wires. A mechanism relating polymerization and whisker formation is suggested.

References (6)

  • W. Gorn

    IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. NS-26

    (1979)
  • G. Charpak

    Nucl. Instr. and Meth.

    (1972)
  • J. Marx et al.

    Phys. Today

    (October, 1978)
    D. Fancher

    Nucl. Instr. and Meth.

    (1979)
    H. Aihara

    IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. NS-30

    (1983)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (6)

  • Aging phenomena in gaseous detectors - Perspectives from the 2001 workshop

    2002, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
  • A laboratory study of radiation damage to drift chambers

    1986, Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics Research, A
  • Study of plasma chemistry in wire chambers by GC/MS

    1990, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science

This work was supported by the Department of Energy under contract DE-AM03-76SF00034.

The authors are grateful to Dr. W. Gorn, Department of Physics, University of California, Riverside, for helpful discussions and comments; to Dr. A. Falick, Head of the Mass Spectroscopy Laboratory in the College of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, and his staff for making the MS measurements; and to Dr. K.A. Gaugler, Molecular and Materials Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and his staff for taking the SEM pictures and for performing the IB measurements.

The authors are grateful to Dr. W. Gorn, Department of Physics, University of California, Riverside, for helpful discussions and comments; to Dr. A. Falick, Head of the Mass Spectroscopy Laboratory in the College of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, and his staff for making the MS measurements; and to Dr. K.A. Gaugler, Molecular and Materials Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and his staff for taking the SEM pictures and for performing the IB measurements.

View full text