Dynamic range and resolving power of the Timepix detector to heavy charged particles

The spectrometric and particle tracking response of the Timepix detector for charged particle detection was examined for energetic (i.e. penetrating) heavy charged particles in a wide range of energies and directions. The aim of this study was to examine the detector's resolving power including particles approaching the minimum-ionizing regime, in particular energetic protons. The per-pixel energy range, of importance namely for heavy charged particles, was also investigated. This work complements and extends the ongoing task to analyze and describe the response and resolving power of the detector in a wide range of particle types, energy (energy loss) and direction. The methodology of event discrimination in terms of these degrees of freedom was expanded and refined. Resolution and event classification were based on analyses of cluster morphology parameters together with spectrometric, tracking and correlated derived quantities such as linear-energy-transfer (LET) and ratio cluster height to cluster path length.