Analysis and interpretation of the performance degradation of glass Resistive Plate Chambers operated in streamer mode

The long-term stability of Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) with glass electrodes was studied for one year with a dedicated test station hosting about 10 m2 of detectors. RPCs were operated in streamer mode with a ternary gas mixture containing argon (27%), isobutane (9%) and tetrafluoroethane (64%). Environmental conditions were kept under control and, in particular, the water pollution in the gas, deemed responsible for the degradation of glass RPC performance, was monitored never to exceed 30 ppm in the exhaust line. Evidence for a substantial aging of the detectors was observed, resulting in a loss of efficiency correlated to an increased rate of spurious streamers. This can be ascribed to the chemical attack of the glass surface by hydrofluoric acid formed in the streamer process, as confirmed by detailed morphological and chemical analyses of the electrode surface. Our results strengthen the indication that the instability of glass RPCs in the long term is related to the use of fluorocarbons as quenching medium and is not due to external pollutants.