C. Insa

Ageing tests on the low-resistivity RPC for the ALICE dimuon arm

Abstract The trigger for the Dimuon Forward Spectrometer of the forthcoming ALICE experiment at CERN LHC will be provided by low-resistivity, single gap Resistive Plate Chambers working in streamer mode. Different ageing test were performed to measure and improve the life-time of the detector. Dummy chambers have been built to understand the effects of continuous gas flow upon the Bakelite resistivity: the results concerning our standard gas mixture (49% Ar, 40% forane, 7% isobutane and 4% SF 6 ) are reported, and compared with the same mixture in which ∼1% of water vapor is added. Moreover, two ageing test of 1 month each have been carried out at the Gamma Irradiation Facility at CERN during 2001. The efficiency for cosmic rays under γ irradiation of RPCs coated with different thicknesses of linseed oil was measured. After protracted operation, the detectors have shown an increase of the current and of the background rate. The increase is slower in the chamber with a thicker oil coating.

Spatial resolution of RPC in streamer mode.

Abstract In the framework of an R&D program on the ALICE dimuon trigger system, the spatial resolution of Resistive Plate Chambers working in streamer mode has been investigated during beam tests. Preliminary studies with cosmic rays had evidenced a dependence of the charge profile to the high voltage and to the gas mixture. However, the spatial resolution measured from the beam tests is only slightly varying with the high voltage and is close to the expected value w/ 12 where w is the strip pitch, for strips of 1 and 2 cm width. The probability to fire a strip as a function of the distance from the strip to the particle impact has been measured for various high voltages. A simple parametrisation of this probability has been achieved. This allows to predict, under various working condition, the cluster size distributions for RPCs with different strip widths and also to account for the effect of the particle incident angle.

Front-end electronics for the RPCs of the ALICE dimuon trigger

A dedicated front-end electronics has been developed for the trigger chambers of the ALICE muon spectrometer under construction at the future LHC at CERN. This trigger detector is based on RPCs (Resistive Plate Chambers) working in streamer mode. The number of electronics channels (about 21000) and the fact that RPC signals have specific characteristics have led to the design of an 8 channel front-end ASIC using a new discrimination technique. The principle of the ASIC is described and the radiation hardness is discussed. Special emphasis is put on production characteristics of about 4000 ASICs.

Performances of a prototype for the ALICE muon trigger at LHC

ALICE, the experiment dedicated to the study of heavy ion collisions at LHC, will be equipped with a forward spectrometer to identify heavy quarkonium states from their decay into muons. The trigger system of the spectrometer consists of four planes of resistive plate chambers, front-end and fast-decision electronics. It is designed to reconstruct muon tracks in a large background environment and to provide a fast trigger signal to the spectrometer. We present results from the test of a trigger prototype that have been carried out with the muon beam of the CERN/SPS at the Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF). The track finding efficiency as well as the robustness of the system to the uncorrelated background induced on the detector by the GIF source are discussed. Special emphasis is put on timing aspects which are crucial at LHC. A self-consistent method for timing optimization and monitoring is proposed. The findings, although specific to ALICE, are relevant to any muon trigger system operating at LHC.