  Gas Electron Multiplication technology is finding more and more applications
in beam instrumentation and at CERN these detectors have recently been adapted
for use in transverse profile measurements at several of our facilities. In the
experimental areas of CERN's Antiproton Decelerator, low energy Gas Electron
Multipliers successfully replaced all Multwire Proportional Chambers in 2012
and another detector type has now been developed for high energy applications
in the experimental areas of the SPS, totaling a potential of more than a
hundred profile detectors to be replaced by GEM detectors of different types.
This paper aims to describe the historical evolution of GEM technology by
covering the many different applications but with specific focus on its
potential to replace Multiwire Proportional Chambers for standard transverse
profile measurement.
