Charge carrier transfer in the gas electron multiplier at low gas gains

Connected to the Linear Collider project TESLA at DESY, studies
on the readout of TPCs based on the GEM-technology are ongoing.
For particle identication via dE/dx - measurement, a good
energy resolution is indispensable, and therefore losses of
primary electrons have to be avoided. It turned out, that in the
GEM transverse diffusion inside or close to the holes is a not
negligible reason for these losses. For Ar-CH4 90:10 and
TPC-like field configurations it was found, that when operated
in normal amplification mode, the Standard Geometry GEM should
not lose primaries, whereas for low gains, also when operated in
magnetic fields up to 5T, a GEM with larger pitch and hole
diameter would be necessary.