Compressed xenon gas near its critical point as an ionization medium

The properties of compressed xenon gas near its critical point as an ionization medium are studied. The authors' data suggest that xenon near it critical point is an important addition to the presently available high resolution radiation detector media. Both the ability to drift ionization electrons over large distances without attenuation and stability with time are demonstrated. The energy resolution of the 976/keV K-conversion electron peak of /sup 207/Bi is measured to be 20 keV full-width half-maximum (FWHM) in 1.4 g/cm/sup 3/ (62 atm) of xenon, independent of the distance over which the charge drifts.<
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