Nitrogen gas scintillation counter for high-intensity heavy ion beams with negligible radiation damage

We developed an N2 gas scintillation counter as a time-of-flight counter for particle identification of radioactive isotope beams. Radiation damage, which often becomes a problem for high-intensity heavy ion beams, can be prevented by a continuous flow of N2 gas. The scintillator, with a volume of 60 mm x 60 mm x 100 mm, was filled with N2 gas at a pressure of approximately 100 kPa. Photons were detected using photomultiplier tubes attached to both sides of the vessel. The main emission wavelength of photons produced in the detector was 300-400 nm. Performance tests confirmed that the detector had sufficient detection efficiency, intrinsic time resolution, and short decay time. Additionally, the detector was demonstrated to be effective for particle identification.