Indian-Manufactured Thick-GEM Detectors Achieve 99.5% Muon Detection Efficiency for Muography Applications
Researchers in India have characterized prototype Thick-GEM particle detectors for use in muon tomography, achieving a muon detection efficiency of 99.5% and a spatial resolution of 30 micrometers. Thick-GEM detectors are a scaled-up, more robust and cost-effective variant of standard Gas Electron Multiplier technology, and the prototypes were manufactured by a local Indian industry. The results suggest locally produced Thick-GEM detectors could serve as viable, affordable tracking components for muography systems used to image the internal structures of large or inaccessible objects.
A research team developing a small prototype muography system in India has evaluated Thick-GEM (THGEM) detectors as muon tracking devices, with the detectors fabricated domestically by a local manufacturer. Muography is a passive, non-destructive imaging technique that exploits naturally occurring cosmic-ray muons to reveal the internal density structures of large, static, or otherwise inaccessible objects, relying in this case on multiple Coulomb scattering. The prototype detectors measured 40 mm × 48 mm and were tested in both single- and double-stage configurations, with gain variation studied across a range of voltage settings to identify optimal operating conditions. Both configurations achieved a maximum muon detection efficiency of 99.5% across the full operating range, and spatial resolution measurements using a collimated Fe-55 source yielded a best value of 30 micrometers in both cases. Thick-GEM technology is a 5–20 times scaled-up version of conventional GEM detectors, valued for its mechanical robustness and cost-effective production. The successful characterization of these locally produced detectors supports their potential integration into affordable muography systems for material identification and structural imaging applications.
What's missing
The study is a preprint and has not yet undergone peer review. The prototype detectors are small (40 mm × 48 mm), and the paper does not report results from a full-scale muography system or real-world imaging tests, leaving open questions about scalability, long-term operational stability, and performance under actual field conditions. The study also does not compare detector performance against commercially available or internationally fabricated THGEM alternatives.
What different sources said
- arXiv physicsCenter
Investigation of Thick-GEM detectors fabricated in India for muography application
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