Development of a MWDC prototype of the CSR external-target experiment

The cooling storage ring (CSR) external-target experiment (CEE) is a spectrometer used in construction to study the properties of nuclear matter in high-baryon density regions at the Heavy-Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL). This study presents the design, simulation, manufacturing, and testing of a half-size prototype of a multi-wire drift chamber (MWDC) for the CEE. First, the performance of the MWDC connected to homemade electronics was simulated. The results demonstrated that an energy resolution of \({18.5}{\%}\) $18.5\%$ for 5.9-keV X-rays and a position resolution of 194 μm for protons can be achieved by the current design. Because the size of the largest MWDC reached 176 cm \(\times\) $\times$ 314 cm, a set of 98 cm \(\times\) $\times$ 98 cm prototypes was built using the new techniques. The positioning accuracy of the anode wires in this prototype is better than 20 μm. After optimization, using commercially available electronics, the prototype can achieved an energy resolution of \({19.7}{\%}\) $19.7\%$ for a ⁵⁵Fe X-ray source. The CEE-MWDC detector and electronics were simultaneously tested. An energy resolution of \({22}{\%}\) $22\%$ was achieved for the ⁵⁵Fe source; the track residuals were approximately 330 μm for the cosmic rays. The results demonstrate that the current design and techniques meet the requirements of the CEE-MWDC array.