Measurement of the longitudinal and transverse diffusion of single electrons drifting in gases

Abstract The transit time of single drifting electrons has been measured in several gases, over distances ranging from 5 cm up to 80 cm. The longitudinal diffusion coefficient is deduced from the fluctuations of this transit time. The transverse diffusion has been measured directly by scanning the electron impact density at the end of the drift zone. The effect of a longitudinal magnetic field has also been studied.