Production and Testing of Prototype Resistive Plate Chambers

The main topic of this thesis is the development of procedures for the produc- tion of thin-gap RPCs on a industrial scale. To do so the production procedures followed by the ATLAS and CMS experiments for their RPCs were used as a starting point. The procedures worked out in this thesis follow the ATLAS ex- periment production techniques with three main differences that ensure a better reproducible quality of the RPC. The first part of this thesis focuses on the search for the materials and the produc- tion procedures utilized for smaller test samples. For the graphite coating which is applied on the outside of the electrodes, we chose a silk screen printing procedure that utilizes the same graphite varnish applied in the production of CMS RPCs. Additionally it was necessary to find a glue that bonds a insulating PET foil to the outside of the electrodes. The glue has to possess a sufficiently high adhesive strength, while at the same time being easy to handle in mass production and fulfilling all CERN regulations. After testing several types of glue, the best result was achieved with a compound PET foil with pre-applied EVA that fulfills all the criteria. Additionally a gluing template was introduced that allows to decouple the positioning from the gluing process of the frames and spacers in the gas gap, making it possible to safely apply the glue within its pot time. The production procedures and materials were then transferred to three companies, which pro- duced several test samples. The second part of the thesis focuses on testing three of the prototypes, produced by the three companies using the proposed manufacturing techniques, at MPI and the GIF++ facility at CERN, and on the data analysis involved in determining their quality and operational characteristics. The tests involved the measurement at different irradiation levels, with and without the high-energy muon beam pro- vided at GIF++. From this data, the efficiency, the cluster size and the time resolution of these prototypes were determined. All quantities meet the required value and show the high quality of the produced RPCs.