EXODET: A new detector array for charged particles with integrated electronics for the position readout

The low intensity (about 105-106 pps) of the presently available RNBs (Radioactive Nuclear Beams) requires detection apparatuses with large solid angle coverage and high granularity. Moreover, the utilization of highly segmented detectors needs unconventional read-out systems appositely designed and the development of electronic boards making use of highly miniaturized and integrated circuitry (ASIC chip). The EXODET (EXOtic DETector) apparatus has been designed and constructed following these guide lines. It consists of large-area silicon detectors segmented in 100 strips on a single side. The particle energy loss information is obtained from the unsegmented side using standard electronic chains, while for the read-out of the incident position information we found suitable a chip already developed for high-energy particle physics experiments. EXODET has been already successfully used in exotic nuclei experiments devoted to the study of the scattering of 17F on a 208Pb target and of 11Be on a 209Bi target at energies around the Coulomb barrier, performed at the Argonne National Laboratory (USA) and at the RIKEN Laboratory (Japan), respectively. The development of these modern and compact detection systems opens new and interesting perspectives for experimentation with RNBs.