The electron multiplication process in proportional counters has been investigated by observing the counter response to single electrons in a manner similar to the original experiment of Curran, Cockroft, and Angus. The single-electron pulse-height spectrum has been measured over a range of anode voltages for a number of different argon-methane counter gas mixtures. The behavior of the gas amplification as a function of anode voltage is used as a criterion to determine proper proportional counter operation. The single-electron pulse-height spectrum obtained in the present measurements is not constant but depends upon the average final number of electrons in the avalanche. This behavior is attributed to the fact that the electron branching process in proportional counters is non-Markovian. Two non-Markovian branching models are introduced and the asymptotic behavior of these models is compared with experimental results.
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Gold et al. (1966) studied this question.
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