Practical limitations to the performance of silicon drift chambers imposed by material quality

Silicon drift chambers with subdivided anode structures intended for two-dimensional position measurement have been produced. These devices use implanted resistor chains to form the drift and have orthogonal strips on the reverse side intended for self-triggering capability. An important consequence of the design is that low drift fields must be used (≤ about 70 V/cm). We present results based on detailed position-response studies which show significant distortions of both pulse height and drift time characteristics. The causes of the distortions will be considered.