Construction and test of an electron multiplier alpha particle detector

• Main Authors: Dare, James Ashton, Rowen, William Howard
• Other Authors: Getting, Ivan A.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Cambridge, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/6351

This thesis document was issued under the authority of another institution, not NPS. At the time it was written, a copy was added to the NPS Library collection for reasons not now known. It has been included in the digital archive for its historical value to NPS. Not believed to be a CIVINS (Civilian Institutions) title. === Starting with general drawings and information furnished by Dr. James S. Allen, the detailed drawings, assembly procedures and processing techniques were developed by the investigation reported in this paper. Three tubes were completed, of which the last one was successfully operated and tested. The limitations and characteristics of the electron multiplier detector are discussed and the design data for some useful associated amplifier deduced therefore. Two of such amplifiers were constructed, tested and used in the counting of particle sources. A radical departure from accepted procedure in heat treating of electrodes was tried in the final tube. This process, hydrogen firing, produced multiplication and particle sensitivity such that the indicated efficiency and range of capability are appreciably better than those previously obtained by Dr. Allen.