We have developed the gas electron multiplier (GEM) using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) insulator substrate (PTFE-GEM). Carbonization on insulator layer by discharges shorts the GEM electrodes, causing permanent breakdown. Since PTFE is hard to be carbonized against arc discharges, PTFE-GEM is expected to be robust against breakdown. Gains as high as 2.6x10^4 were achieved with PTFE-GEM (50 um thick) in Ar/CO2 = 70%/30% gas mixture at V_GEM = 730V. PTFE-GEM never showed a permanent breakdown even after suffering more than 40000 times discharges during the experiment. The result demonstrates that PTFE-GEM is really robust against discharges. We conclude that PTFE is an excellent insulator material for the GEM productions.
@article{arxiv.1403.6659,
title = {Development of a Diehard GEM using PTFE insulator substrate},
author = {M. Wakabayashi and K. Komiya and T. Tamagawa and Y. Takeuchi and K. Aoki and A. Taketani and H. Hamagaki},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1403.6659},
year = {2014}
}
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3rd International Conference on Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGD2013)