Applications and new developments in resistive plate chambers

Resistive plate chambers are rugged and affordable gas detectors that have found extensive use in high-energy physics (HEP) and astroparticle experiments. The main features of these counters are the very large pulse height, reduced cost per unit area, and good (about 1 ns) time resolution. The field has enjoyed very lively progress in recent years, including the introduction of a new (avalanche) mode of operation, extension of the counting-rate capabilities to levels around 10 MHz/cm/sup 2/, improvement of the time resolution for minimum ionizing particles to 50 ps /spl sigma/, and the achievement of position resolutions of a few tens of micrometers. These new developments have extended the range of REP applications and promise new applications in medical imaging.