Development of /sup 3/He MSGC for neutron scattering experiment

A microstrip gas chamber (MSGC) suffers from discharges due to surface streamers. To overcome this problem, we have proposed a new patterning approach which utilizes intermediate electrodes between the anode and the cathode. This new multi-grid type MSGC (M-MSGC) realizes high gain and high counting rate capability. Furthermore we proposed another signal readout method to obtain induced signals on the back plane. Floating pads are placed close to the cathode strip on the front surface of an M-MSGC and induced charges are read out via pads. We are now developing an M-MSGC with pad readout for a neutron scattering experiment. /sup 3/He M-MSGC was developed and test measurements have been performed.