Aging of the geiger-muller counter due to particle conductance in an insulating gas

Abstract

In this paper, the aging effect of commercially available Geiger-Muller counters under working conditions is being considered from both theoretical and experimental point of view. In the experimental part lifetime curves for the commercial Geiger-Muller counter chamber are first recorded. After detection of the aging phenomena, the commercial chamber response to an impulse voltage is tested along with recording of the same response of the Geiger-Muller chamber model with conductive particles included. The law of similarity for the gaseous discharge is fulfilled both by the commercial Geiger-Muller chamber and by the chamber model with conductive particles. The results obtained from the U-test indicate that the aging of the Geiger-Muller chamber is mainly caused by the occurrence of a great number of conductive particles hovering inside the chamber. Some suggestions of how to reduce the aging effect due to conductive particles inside the Geiger-Muller chamber are given in the conclusion.