In this chapter a comparison between various designs of micropattern detectors is given, describing their specific advantages and disadvantages, which finally determines the fields of their applications. It is shown that at low counting rates the maximum achievable gas gain is determined by the Raether limit, which is about 106-107 electrons, depending on the design. At high counting rates, the maximum achievable gain additionally drops due to the contribution of several other effects (e.g. avalanches overlapping in space and time). Typically, micropattern detectors have a position resolution of ~30 µm, energy resolution of ~ 20% FWHM for 6 keV X-rays, and a time resolutions of ~1 ns. Some advanced designs offer even better characteristics. The diversity of micropattern detectors makes them attractive for many applications. For example, in measurements requiring simultaneously excellent time and position resolutions, mutigap multistrip detectors can be used in high energy physics applications, and hole-type structures are advantageous for the detection of visible photons. In some commercial applications, where reliability and robustness are important, spark protected detectors with resistive electrodes could be useful.
Hydrodynamics and high-energy physics of Wolf-Rayet colliding winds