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Within the framework of the scientific program for the study of hot and dense nuclear matter in the Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics of the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, Dubna (JINR), the NICA megaproject (Nuclotron-based Ion Collider fAcility) based on the Nuclotron-M accelerator is implemented. The new accelerator facility will make it possible to research the properties of dense baryonic matter in the collision of heavy ions in a wide range of atomic masses from p–p collisions in the energy range √Spp = 12–27 GeV/n and d + d collisions with energies of √SNN = 4–13.8 GeV/n with the average luminosity L = 1032 cm–2 s–1 up to Au+79 + Au+79 collisions in the energy range √SNN = 4–11 GeV/n with the average luminosity L = 1027 cm–2 s–1 (Au+79). A collider provides two points of intersection of beams, in one of which the multipurpose detector (Multi-Purpose Detector, MPD) will be installed. The time-projection gas chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector and the particle identifier of the Multi-Purpose Detector. The article considers the structure of the MPD, the design and the main working parameters of TPC and its subsystems. The front-end electronics (FEE), as well as the procedure for assembling and integrating the TPC into the MPD are discussed.

In the frame of the JINR scientific program on study of hot and dense baryonic matter a new accelerator complex Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) based on the Nuclotron-M is under realization. Two interaction points are foreseen at NICA for two detectors. One of these detectors, the Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD), is optimized for investigations of heavy-ion collisionsat a luminosity up to 1027 cm−2 s−1 for ions up to Au79+. The Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector of the MPD central barrel. It is a well-known detector for 3-dimensional tracking and particle identification for high multiplicity events. The conceptual layout of MPD, TPC design and it's parameters, the current status of the readout based on multiwire proportional chamber (MWPC) and readout electronics based on SAMPA chip as well as the status of TPC subsystems are presented.

The article is aimed at describing the development status, design features and advanced version of the TPC data readout system.

The time-projection chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector in the MPD/NICA. The information on charge-particle tracks in the TPC is registered by the MWPG with cathode pad readout. The frontend electronics (FEE) are developed with use of modern technologies such as application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and data transfer to a concentrator via a fast optical interface. The main parameters of the FEE are as follows: total number of channels, ~95 000; data stream from the whole TPC, 5 GB/s; low power consumption, less than 100 mW/ch; signal to noise ratio (S/N), 30; equivalent noise charge (ENC)

The MultiPurpose Detector (MPD) is designed to study heavy-ion collisions at the Nuclotron-based heavy Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) at JINR, Dubna. Its main components located inside a superconducting solenoid are a tracking system composed of a silicon microstrip vertex detector followed by a large volume time-projection chamber, a time-of-flight system for particle identification and a barrel electromagnetic calorimeter. A zero degree hadron calorimeter is designed specifically to measure the energy of spectators. In this paper, all parts of the apparatus are described and their tracking and particle identification (PID) parameters are discussed in some detail.

An X-ray diffractometer with a mobile emitter-detector system is able to perform various X-ray examinations of a stationary sample. The design for this instrument is described, along with its operating principles and control programs. Owing to its high-precision angular movement sensors and its two detectors (one of these, a linear position-sensitive detector, has a working length of 100 mm and a resolution of

In a frame of the JINR scientific program on study of hot and dense baryonic matter a new accelerator complex Ion Collider fAcility (NICA) based on the Nuclotron-M is under realization. It will operate at luminosity up to 1027 cm−2s−1 for Au79+ ions. Two interaction points are foreseen at NICA for two detectors which will operate simultaneously. One of these detectors, the Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD), is optimized for investigations of heavy-ion collisions. The Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector of the MPD central barrel. It is a well-known detector for 3-dimensional tracking and particle identification for high multiplicity events. The conceptual layout of MPD and detailed description of the design and main working parameters of TPC, the readout system based on MWPC and readout electronics as well as the TPC subsystems and tooling for assembling and integration TPC into MPD are presented.

A linear detector of thermal neutrons, developed at the Laboratory for High Energies (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research), is used in the polarized-neutron spectrometer of the aAe-2 reactor (JINR). The data are acquired in the regime of frame-by-frame survey to select neutrons with a wavelength λ = 1—12 A by the time of flight. The neutron-detection efficiency is ~70% for a wavelength of 2 A. The detector exhibits a low sensitivity to γ -rays, a dif- ferential nonlinearity of ~1.5%, and a spatial resolution of ~1.5 mm at counting rates of ~10 5 events/s.

The main parameters and test results of several position-sensitive detectors for investigations by means of soft X-rays, slow neutrons and ions are presented.

A parallax-free X-ray area detector with a spherical Be-window has been tested in a diffractometer. The detector provides a DQE of ∼80% (8–17 keV), a parallax-free solid angle of 50°, and accuracies of 1% for the intensity and of 0.025° for the angle.

The new parallax-free X-ray 2D detector (SD-1000) with the pixel array of 1024 × 1024 has been designed and tested. This detector is the basic element of the X-ray diffractometer which is constructed for the investigation of biological macromolecules, viruses, liquid crystals and powders. The first test results are presented.

The performance characteristics of a few high resolution position-sensitive detectors constructed at JINR are presented. The detectors supplied with original software operate with an IBM PC/AT. One of these devices has been succesfully applied for protein molecule structure investigations and the other for studies of the structure-forming process during combustion. The preliminary parameters of the high count rate MWPC with parallel electronics and the testing results of the microstrip detector are given.

The Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) is the main device for tracking and identification of charged particles in the MPD experiment at the NICA collider. The article presents the design consideration of this detector for registration of central Au-Au collisions at energies up to 11 Gev/c and NICA event rate of 5 kHz. The status of the TPC construction and features of its main parts (field cage, read-out chambers, front end electronics, gas and cooling systems, laser-calibration) are described.

Data on the development and investigation of position-sensitive detectors performed at the Laboratory of High Energies, JINR for X-ray structural studies and in beta autoradiography are presented. The parameters of the position-sensitive detectors of thermal neutrons with a high-pressure multiwire proportional chamber and a low-pressure multistep chamber are described. The characteristics of the imaging detector with a CCD matrix which is being developed are discussed.

Automatic coordinate detectors constructed at the High Energy Laboratory, JINR, on the basis of multiwire proportional chambers are used for (1) X-ray diffraction of single protein crystals, (2) quantitative analysis of thin layer chromatograms, (3) radio-isotope medicine diagnostics, and (4) neutron radiography. The detectors operate on-line with a computer, have a large sensitive area, high detection efficiency, spatial resolution and count rate. Image displays are presented on a TV-monitor. These devices allow the time of carrying out the studies and the dose to be reduced and the accuracy to be increased. The work has been performed at the High Energy Laboratory, JINR.

Information is presented on parameters of a gamma camera for γ-ray detection over a range of 50–100 keV. A multiwire proportional chamber used as a detector is filled with a 90% xenon-10% methane mixture at a pressure of 5 atm. The data are read out by means of electromagnetic delay lines. The efficiency of the detector for this energy range is 25–40%. The intrinsic spatial resolution is no worse than 1.5 mm for 60 keV photons and the central field of view. The sensitive area is 270 × 270 mm 2 , the central field of view 240 × 240 mm 2 . Results of testing the gamma camera are presented. The work has been performed at the High Energy Laboratory, JINR.

Characteristics of multiwire position sensitive chambers for an express-analysis of labelled compounds in thin layer chromatography are described. The analysis is characterized by a relatively high detection sensitivity, good data reproducibility and high spatial resolution.