Extreme high-rate capable timing resistive plate chambers with ceramic electrodes

The future Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment to be built at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany, will create the highest particle densities ever created in a laboratory. One of its components, the Time-of-Flight Wall, will be comprised of Resistive Plate Chambers. The high particle fluxes expected at the most inner region, close to the beam pipe, have led to the research of new low-resistive materials to be used as electrodes. Si sub(3)N sub(4)/SiC composites are a very good candidate for this function. Their bulk resistivity, in the order of 10 super(9)-10 super(10) Omega cm, allows for increased rate capabilities up to 10 super(6) s super(-1)1 cm super(-2). In this report, the properties of these new materials will be discussed. Also, the performance of resistive plate chambers with ceramic electrodes under irradiation in electron and proton beams will be presented.