Identification of light charged particles and heavy ions in silicon detectors by means of pulse-shape discrimination

Pulse-shaped discrimination with totally depleted Si-detectors in reverse mount has been investigated and shown to be an excellent method of charged-particle identification in the energy range of /spl ap/2 to 20 AMeV. In test experiments with heavy-ion beams we obtained element identification up to Ti and isotope resolution even for elements heavier than carbon. The promising results and the simplicity of the electronics recommend this technique for applications in multidetector arrays. In particular, small and compact 4/spl pi/ Si balls with relatively low thresholds for charged-particle identification to be combined with 4/spl pi/ neutron detectors or /spl gamma/ arrays can be constructed.