Performance of the E715 Transition Radiation Detector

The transition radiation detector (TRD) consisted of 12 identical modules, each containing a radiator and a multiwire proportional counter (MWPC). A TRD is found to be an effective device for the identification of electrons in a large hadron background at Tevatron energies. The TRD proved to be a stable and reliable device with performance parameters in close agreement with theoretical predictions. The combination of a TRD with a lead glass calorimeter proved to be a very powerful method of electron identification. (LEW)