Operation of MHSP multipliers in high pressure pure noble-gas

Abstract

We report on the performance of a Micro-Hole & Strip Plate (MHSP) electron multiplier operating in pure Xe, Kr, Ar and Ne at the pressure range of 1 to 6 bar. The maximal gains at 1 bar Xe and Kr are 50000 and 100000, respectively; they drop by about one order of magnitude at 2 bar and by almost another order of magnitude at 5-6 bar; they reach gains of 500 and 4000 at 5 bar in Xe and Kr, respectively. In Ar, the gain varies very little with pressure, being 3000-9000; in Ne the maximum attainable gain, about 100000, is pressure independent above 2 bar. The results are compared with that of single- and triple-GEM multipliers operated in similar conditions. Potential applications are in hard X-ray imaging and in cryogenic radiation detectors.