A highly segmented NaI(Tl) detector with vacuum photodiode readout for measuring electromagnetic showers at the CERN ISR

Abstract In this report we describe construction and performance of two identical units of electromagnetic shower counters which were installed in the axial-field spectrometer at the CERN-ISR in 1982 to provide improved detection of photons and electrons over a 1.3 sr solid angle of the AFS calorimeter. Thallium doped sodium-iodide in the form of small blocks served as an active shower material. Vacuum photodiodes and low-noise charge sensitive electronics were used for the deposited energy measurement and signal amplification. The stable performance of the detectors over a period of more than 18 months until the closure of the ISR has proven that vacuum photodiodes can reliably be utilized in highly modularized large scale detectors operating in a high magnetic field environment.