A concise review on THGEM detectors

We briefly review the concept and properties of the THick Gaseous Electron Multiplier (THGEM); it is a robust, high-gain gaseous electron multiplier, manufactured economically by standard printed-circuit drilling and etching technology. Its operation and structure resemble that of gaseous electron multiplier's (GEM's) but with 5-20-fold expanded dimensions. The millimeter-scale hole-size results in good electron transport and in large avalanche-multiplication factors, e.g. reaching 10(7) in double-THGEM cascaded single-photoelectron detectors. The multiplier's material, parameters and shape can be application-tailored; it can operate practically in any counting gas, including noble gases, over a pressure range spanning from 1 mbar to several bars; its operation at cryogenic (LAr) conditions was recently demonstrated. The high gain, sub-millimeter spatial resolution, high counting-rate capability, good timing properties and the possibility of industrial production capability of large-area robust detectors, pave ways towards a broad spectrum of potential applications: some are discussed here in brief. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.