Study of the counting rate capability of MRPC detectors built with soda lime glass

Abstract We report the results of three MRPC detectors built with soda lime glass and tested in the T10 beam line at CERN. The detectors consist of a stack of 280 μm thick glass sheets with 6 gaps of 220 μ m . We built two identical MRPCs, except one had the edges of glass treated with resistive paint. A third detector was built with one HV electrode painted as strips. The detectors' efficiency and time resolution were studied at different particle flux in a pulsed beam environment. The results do not show any improvement with the painted edge technique at higher particle flux. We heated the MRPCs up to 40 °C to evaluate the influence of temperature in the rate capability. Results from this warming has indicated an improvement on the rate capability. The dark count rates show a significant dependence with the temperature.