Gaseous and gasless pixel detectors

The invention of Micromegas and GEM has enabled the development of a new generation of gaseous proportional detectors. By using a pixel chip as active (anode) readout, Time Projection Chambers become available where all information of the ionization, due to radiation, can be read out. With the MEMS membrane technology, developed for the integration of a Micromegas and a (pixel) chip, a new vacuum electron multiplier may be feasible. The combination of this multiplier and an electron emission membrane would result in a low-mass tracking detector with sub-ns time resolution.