Response of silicon multistrip detectors and a cesium iodide scintillator to a calcium ion beam of 0.5 GeV/u

We have constructed and operated charge preamplifiers for silicon strip detectors with a dynamic range extending from fractions of minimum ionising particle (MIP) up to 16124 MIPs. These silicon detectors combined with time-of-flight counters and cesium iodide scintillator form a segment of the VENUS detector that has been exposed to a calcium beam of 0.5 GeV/u at the GSI accelerator. The aim of the instrument is the identification of all nuclides of the periodic table of the elements. Measurements of electronic noise, cross-talk among channels and energy deposit resolutions in various experimental conditions for silicon detectors are given. The measured light output of the CsI(Tl) crystal induced by calcium is compared with that extrapolated from lower-energy data of various nuclide species determined in other experiments. The charge resolution for calcium ions, determined by the dE/dx detectors and TOF counters of time resolution of 55 ± 7 ps, amounts to 0.42 charge units (rms). Improvements in ion discrimination with respect to the present detector configuration are considered.