Construction and Testing of the Upgraded Position-sensitive Ionization Drift Chamber Detector for Use with the SE-SPS

Many reactions critical for our understanding of the synthesis of elements in stellar environments involve unstable isotopes. While direct measurements of such reactions are ideal, sometimes only indirect studies, such as transfer reactions, are possible. The Super-Enge Split-Pole Spectrograph (SE-SPS), located at the John D. Fox Accelerator Laboratory at Florida State University, is well-suited for such measurements of transfer reactions. In these measurements, light reaction products are momentum-analyzed by the SE-SPS and detected at the focal plane. A new focal plane detector, the Upgraded Position-sensitive Ionization Drift Chamber (UPIDC) has been developed and constructed, which improves upon the currently used detector with increased size and improved resolution. The design, construction, and preliminary test data are discussed.