General Electronics for TPC – GET

Radioactive beams have become an essential tool in low-energy experimental nuclear physics. However, by the very nature of secondary beams, their intensity is limited, particularly for beams of the highest interest - farthest away from stability. Active targets, which can be described as time projection chamber (TPC) [1] like detectors in which the detector gas is the target, have been shown to have the highest sensitivity for quantitative high resolution studies of rare events. Noteworthy examples are obtained in measurements of reactions and radioactive decays such as the study of 7H via transfer reaction or the two-proton decay. The very large dynamical range of energy loss required for the detection of ions in the gases, together with the fact that the detector gas must be chosen also to fit the experiment as target, and not only as detector gas, are very specific features for this domain of physics. The position resolution required to achieve both the energy and angular resolution demands high pad density and therefore of the associated number of electronics channels. Finally the very low recoil energies imply that often particles stop in the gas, thus only an internal trigger of the TPC may provide the information whether the event is of interest or not. With the objective to overcome these constraints, we propose to develop a nouvelle, complete numeric electronic system with unprecedented capabilities for triggering, data read out and processing. Thus the system conception and design will handle the new-generation Active Target and TPCs for nuclear spectroscopy and reaction studies. The project includes a demonstration by performing two experiments, which will validate the functionalities of the electronics. These experiments correspond to the benchmark physics cases addressed with active targets and are not possible with today's devices. The advance is generic in design, thus providing a gateway for other medium to large detection arrays that are being developed within the community. This progress is indispensable to take a lead of the opportunities created by the forthcoming construction of the new radioactive ion beam facilities in Europe.