A drift chamber telescope for high-Z particles

Drift chambers are one of the position sensing technologies used in cosmic ray balloon and satellite experiments with potential application to the next generation of detectors for space flight. A low mass TPC type drift chamber, employing 8 distinct drift regions within a single gas volume has been built, tested and used at the LBL Bevalac. From the drift time X-coordinate, spatial resolutions below 100 {mu}m are obtained for a variety of heavy ions with selected trigger modes. The Y-coordinate is determined by pickup pads located behind the anode wire, thereby providing both X and Y coordinates from the same avalanche. Results from different timing schemes, {delta}-ray effects and the pickup pad resolution are presented. 6 refs., 5 figs