Experience with dE/dx at CDF

Prior to the 1992-93 Tevatron collider run, the CDF Central Tracking Chamber (CTC) was instrumented to measure charge deposition in addition to drift times for the outer 54 of its 84 sense wire layers in order to measure specific ionization (dE/dx). The Amplifier-Shaper-Discriminator (ASD) cards were modified to include charge integration. The amplifier output is discharged at a constant rate, converting the integrator pulse height to the width of the discriminated pulse. LeCroy 1879 TDC's measure both the arrival time and the width of a pulse. A typical pulse width from a minimum ionizing particle is 12 counts or 24 ns. However, the limited resolution does not present a problem because primary ionization statistics yield an expected single pulse resolution of 40%. The author expands on applications and adaptations of these specific ionization detectors, within the CDF detector, and with respect to the needs of a B detection system