Particle detection by secondary electron emission from low-density KC1

The development of advanced particle detectors for the ISABELLE facility is now under consideration. One type of detector, proposed here, utilizes the secondary electron emission from a low-density KC1 layer as the particle goes through the layer. This type of detector is interesting for several reasons: (1) Since the secondary electrons are created only as a result of incident particle interaction, the mechanism is applicable for very fast detectors. (2) Because of the low density of the target (approx. 0.02 g/cc), more than one detector can be placed along the particle trajectory in order to provide both space and time resolution. (3) Since the secondary emission depends on the energy loss of the particle, it is possible to determine the velocity and identity of minimum ionizing particles. (4) The secondary electron yield (usually much > 1 per event) can be coupled with other detection mechanisms