Response of silicon detectors to relativistic pions and electrons

Abstract

This paper begins with a review of the different results which are essential for calculation of the energy loss spectrum of protons, pions and electrons. The energy loss spectra are calculated from Landau's results supplemented by Symon and by Vavilov, and the effect of electron nuclear diffusion was investigated by Rossi-Greisen, Molière and Yang. Experimental data are presented after a brief outline of the measurement method. These data are related to the energy loss of electrons of a few MeV in silicon semiconductor detectors, together with protons and pions with a kinetic energy of the same order as their rest energy. Spectra have been computed by convolution of the distributions pertaining to the various random processes which are involved in measuring the energy loss of a high energy particle in a semiconductor detector, i.e. energy loss fluctuation, detector response fluctuation, path fluctuation in the case of electrons. Computed spectra are then compared to measured spectra.