Performance characteristics of the medium energy gas scintillation proportional counter on board the Italian Dutch x-ray astronomy satellite SAX

The technological development of the Medium Energy Gas Scintillation Proportional Counter (MEGSPC), a part of the scientific payload of the Italian-Dutch X-ray Astronomy Satellite SAX, is presented. The detector and the experimental setup are briefly described and its detector performance characteristics are given. Experimental findings on the background resolution and spatial resolution are reported and the background rejection is discussed.