A multiwire proportional counter for very high counting rates

Preliminary measurements in a proportional counter with two independently counting wires showed that counting rates up to 10 6  counts s −1  wire −1 can be reached without critical loss in the `true versus measured' linearity relation. Results obtained with a detector containing 30 active wires (2 mm pitch) are presented. With each wire is associated a fast pre‐amplifier and a discriminator channel. Global counting rates in excess of 10 7  events s −1 are reported. Dead‐time losses are corrected by use of simple mathematical‐modelling functions. Data‐acquisition systems are described for one‐dimensional (real‐time) and two‐dimensional (off‐line) position‐sensitive detection systems.