Description
Several mechanisms can affect the long-term operation of particle detectors and lead to a gradual and permanent degradation of the detection performance. The mechanical deformations of the structure of the detector can induce gain fluctuations of the order of several per cents over the surface of the detector, resulting in drastic non-uniformity of the performance. Moreover, the physical and electrical properties of some materials may change after several years causing bad electrical contacts, gas leaks, oxidation ... These effects are multiple and can be avoided most of the time with an appropriate choice of materials, operating conditions and the validation of the detectors with a strict quality control.
