Monitoring the effect of gas purification of sealed MPGDs for X-ray imaging

The response of a sealed MicroPatterned Gaseous Detector (MPGD), with an enclosed gas purification system based on getters, was monitored for several weeks. An average of 2 discharges per day was registered during the monitoring period and the charge gain varied a maximum of 15% during the more stable period. The temperature of the getters was varied from 180^oC to 250^oC and no significant influence was registered in the detector response. A reactivation of the getters also did not affect the charge gain, which means that their gettering rate was at full efficiency before the reactivation. However, careful attention is paid to charge gain reduction for long times of operation which can denote a loss of getters efficiency along time and the need of getter reactivation. On the other hand, turning off the getters lead to a rapid decrease in the charge gain. This allows concluding that a purification system based on getters is really effective in removing gas impurities, being a crucial component of the detection system for a sealed gaseous detector.