A square meter position sensitive parallel plate detector for heavy ions

A parallel plate avalanche counter has been developed for the detection of time, x-y position and energy loss of heavy ions. Construction and performance of prototypes with an active area of 26 X 26 cm2 and of a final 1 X 1 m2 version are described in detail. The position determination uses a new principle based on a sense wire plane within the two parallel plate electrodes with a fast interpolating delay line read-out. A time resolution of Δt = 240 ps (fwhm) and a position resolution of Δx = Δy <= 0.5 mm (fwhm) are routinely obtained during actual experiments. (Auth.)