High precision measurements with nuclear emulsions using fast automated microscopes

We report on the development of an automated scanning system for nuclear emulsions aiming at very precise spatial and angular measurements. An accuracy of 0:06mm in position was achieved with the emulsion films used for the measurement. An accuracy of 0.4 mrad was achieved for tracks penetrating orthogonally the emulsion films while an accuracy of 1 mrad was obtained for tracks inclined by about 300 mrad with respect to the perpendicular direction. This result shows unprecedented position and angular resolutions achieved by automated measurements. r 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 29.40.Gx; 29.40.R