A 2D MWPC area detector for use with synchrotron X-radiation at the Daresbury laboratory for small angle diffraction and scattering

A 2D multiwire proportional chamber area detector is being developed to provide a real time data acquisition system for small angle scattering and diffraction experiments with synchrotron X-radiation at the Daresbury synchrotron radiation source (SRS). The chamber has a circular aperture, 200 mm diameter with an anode and cathode wire pitch of 1 mm; a front cathode-anode spacing of 6 mm and a 6 mm spacing between anode and rear cathode. A 1 mm thick front beryllium window and a rear aluminium cover plate with indium seals provide a gas-tight system. Previous experiments with a similar chamber design allowed continual use of the chamber for up to 2 years without refill. A digitising time of 2 μs is expected based on a 260 mm delay line and Lecroy TDC linked to a mass semiconductor memory of 512×256 elements. The experiment will be controlled by a PDP 11/04 computer with 28 K memory interfaced to a CAMAC create with 64 K fast access CAMAC memory. The system should be relatively easy to use with good order to order resolution and reasonable rate for small angle diffraction and scattering experiments on biological systems. Evaluation of the set-up for protein crystallography is planned though a TV based image intensifier (Enraf-Nonius) is preferred for this application at the SRS.