Design and Fabrication of an HPXe Ionization Chamber for a Harsh Environment Application

High-pressure xenon (HPXe) gas is an attractive gamma-ray detection medium due to its physical and nuclear properties. HPXe has a large detection efficiency for gamma-ray energies on the order of 100s of keV, due to its large atomic number (Z=54), which translate into a high photoelectric absorption and Compton scattering cross sections. In addition, the Fano factor for HPXe is quite good, measured near 0.13 - 0.1. HPXe ionization chambers are ideal for use in uncontrolled environments, as this detector's response has been shown to be uniform over large temperature ranges up to 170 .deg. C. In contrast to solid detection media that derive their radiation detection capabilities from their crystal structure, the HPXe performance is not degraded by high-radiation fluences. In this study, design parameters of an HPXe ionization chamber are described. And preliminary test is also addressed