The experiment LXe-CAT (Liquid Xenon-Coded Aperture Telescope), which we have proposed for (gamma) -ray astrophysics observations in the 300 keV - 10 MeV energy range, uses a Liquid Xenon Time Projection Chamber (LXe-TPC) as a position sensitive (gamma) -ray detector, and a coded aperture mask to provide a telescope with an angular resolution of 30 ft over a field of view (FOV) of 28 degree(s) X 28 degree(s). The point source localization accuracy is about 2 ft for a 10(sigma) source. To demonstrate the spectroscopy and imaging capabilities of the LXe-TPC as a (gamma) -ray detector we have designed, built and are currently testing a 10 liter prototype with a sensitive area of approximately 400 cm² and an active liquid depth of 5 cm. Studies on stability, spectroscopy and imaging response of this detector to various (gamma) -ray sources will be presented. The unique capability of the LXe-TPC to identify and reject background events based on Compton kinematics reconstruction has also been demonstrated.

Date Published: 21 September 1994
PDF: 18 pages
Proc. SPIE 2305, Gamma-Ray Detector Physics and Applications, (21 September 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.187273

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2305:
Gamma-Ray Detector Physics and Applications
Elena Aprile, Editor(s)