Test beam results of a cerium fluoride crystal matrix

A Cerium Fluoridematrix of 3 × 3 towers with Silicon photodiode readout has been tested in electron and pion beams from 10 to 150 GeV energy. The matrix was assembled with a selection of crystals out of a total of over 40 large crystals (up to 20 cm long and 3 cm × 3 cm in cross section) from various producers. Despite less than optimal geometry and crystal quality, an energy resolution of 0.5% for energies ≥ 50 GeV has been obtained. Fast shaping amplifier prototypes were tested and their performance was found to be appropriate for operation in an LHC-like environment.