  We report promising initial results obtained with new resistive-electrode GEM
(RETGEM) detectors manufactured, for the first time, using screen printing
technology. These new detectors allow one to reach gas gains nearly as high as
with ordinary GEM-like detectors with metallic electrodes; however, due to the
high resistivity of its electrodes the RETGEM, in contrast to ordinary
hole-type detectors, has the advantage of being fully spark protected. We
discovered that RETGEMs can operate stably and at high gains in noble gases and
in other badly quenched gases, such as mixtures of noble gases with air and in
pure air; therefore, a wide range of practical applications, including
dosimetry and detection of dangerous gases, is foreseeable. To promote a better
understanding of RETGEM technology some comparative studies were completed with
metallic-electrode thick GEMs. A primary benefit of these new RETGEMs is that
the screen printing technology is easily accessible to many research
laboratories. This accessibility encourages the possibility to manufacture
these GEM-like detectors with the electrode resistivity easily optimized for
particular experimental or practical applications.
