F. Formenti

The ALICE TPC front end electronics

In this paper we present the front end electronics for the time projection chamber (TPC) of the ALICE experiment. The system, which consists of about 570000 channels, is based on two basic units: (a) an analogue ASIC (PASA) that incorporates the shaping-amplifier circuits for 16 channels; (b) a mixed-signal ASIC (ALTRO) that integrates 16 channels, each consisting of a 10-bit 25-MSPS ADC, the baseline subtraction, tail cancellation filter, zero suppression and multi-event buffer. The complete readout chain is contained in front end cards (FEC), with 128 channels each, connected to the detector by means of capton cables. A number of FECs (up to 25) are controlled by a readout control unit (RCU), which interfaces the FECs to the data acquisition (DAQ), the trigger, and the detector control system (DCS). A function of the final electronics (1024 channels) has been characterized in a test that incorporates a prototype of the ALICE TPC as well as many other components of the final set-up. The tests show that the system meets all design requirements. Originally conceived and optimized for the time projection chamber (TPC) of the ALICE experiment, its architecture and programmability make this system suitable for the readout of a wider class of detectors.

A four-gap glass-RPC time-of-flight array with 90 ps time resolution

In this paper, we describe the performance of a prototype developed in the context of the ALICE time-of-flight research and development system. The detector module consists of a 32-channel array of 3/spl times/3 cm/sup 2/ glass resistive plate chamber (RPC) cells, each of which has four accurately spaced gaps of 0.3 mm thickness arranged as a pair of double-gap resistive plate chambers. Operated with a nonflammable gas mixture at atmospheric pressure, the system achieved a time resolution of 90 ps at 98% efficiency with good uniformity and moderate crosstalk. This result shows the feasibility of large-area high-resolution time-of-flight systems based on RPCs at affordable cost.

First results from the ALICE silicon pixel detector prototype

Abstract System prototyping of the ALICE silicon pixel detector (SPD) is well underway. The ALICE SPD consists of two barrel layers with 9.83 million channels in total. These are read out by the ALICE1LHCb pixel chip, which has been developed in a commercial 0.25 μm process with radiation hardening by design layout. The readout chip contains 8192 pixel cells each with a fast analog preamplifier and shaper followed by a discriminator and digital delay lines. Test results show a pixel cell noise of about 110 electrons rms and a mean minimum threshold of about 1000 electrons rms before threshold fine tuning. Several readout chips have been flip-chip bonded to detectors using two different bump-bonding techniques (solder, indium). Results of radioactive source measurements of these assemblies are presented for 90 Sr and 55 Fe sources. Several chip-detector assemblies have been tested in a 150 GeV / c pion beam at CERN where an online efficiency of about 99% across a wide range of detector bias and threshold settings was observed. All preliminary investigations confirm the functionality of the chip and the chip-detector assemblies for the ALICE experiment.

The Alice silicon pixel detector

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research, CH-1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland Universita degli Studi di Padova, I-35131, Padova, Italy Dipartimento IA di Fisica e Sez. INFN di Bari, I-70126,Bari,Italy Comenius University, SK-84215 Bratislava, Slovakia NIKHEF, National Institute for Nuclear Physics and High Energy Physics, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands Slovak Academy of Sciences, SK-04353, Kosice, Slovakia Universita di Roma I, La Sapienza, I-00185, Roma, Italy

Beam test results for new full-scale GEM prototypes for a future upgrade of the CMS high-η Muon System

The CMS GEM collaboration is considering Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) for upgrading the CMS forward muon system in the 1.5 <; |η| <; 2.4 endcap region. GEM detectors can provide precision tracking and fast trigger information. They would improve the CMS muon trigger and muon momentum resolution and provide missing redundancy in the high-η region. Employing a new faster construction and assembly technique, we built four full-scale Triple-GEM muon detectors for the inner ring of the first muon endcap station. We plan to install these or further improved versions in CMS during the first long LHC shutdown in 2013/14 for continued testing. These detectors are designed for the stringent rate and resolution requirements in the increasingly hostile environments expected at CMS after the second long LHC shutdown in 2018/19. The new prototypes were studied in muon/pion beams at the CERN SPS. We discuss our experience with constructing the new full-scale production prototypes and present preliminary performance results from the beam test. We also tested smaller Triple-GEM prototypes with zigzag readout strips with 2 mm pitch in these beams and measured a spatial resolution of 73 μm. This readout offers a potential reduction of channel count and consequently electronics cost for this system while maintaining high spatial resolution.

The trigger for K0→π0π0 decays of the NA48 experiment at CERN

The trigger used for the collection of the samples of K0→π0π0 decays in the NA48 experiment at CERN uses a novel pipeline design in order to satisfy the demanding specifications of a high rate kaon beam. The trigger algorithms, architecture and performance are described.

High rate large dynamic range analog circuitry and digitizers for fast calorimetry

This paper describes the issues encountered in the design of a large dynamic range digitizer for calorimetry. A gain switching technology developed for the liquid krypton calorimeter of the NA48 CP-violation experiment at CERN is described in detail. 14 bit dynamic range and better than 300 ps time resolution were achieved in beam tests with an 8 channel prototype. A mixed analog/digital ASIC has been developed. A 13,500 channel system is being produced which will be put into operation in 1996.

The ALICE on-Detector pixel PILOT system-OPS

The on-detector electronics of the ALICE silicon pixel detector (nearly 10 million pixels) consists of 1,200 readout chips, bump-bonded to silicon sensors and mounted on the front-end bus, and of 120 control (PILOT) chips, mounted on a multi chip module (MCM) together with opto-electronic transceivers. The environment of the pixel detector is such that radiation tolerant components are required. The front-end chips are all ASICs designed in a commercial 0.25-micron CMOS technology using radiation hardening layout techniques. An 800 Mbit/s Glink-compatible serializer and laser diode driver, also designed in the same 0.25 micron process, is used to transmit data over an optical fibre to the control room where the actual data processing and event building are performed. We describe the system and report on the status of the PILOT system.

The ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector: readiness for the first proton beam

The Silicon Pixel Detector (SPD) is the innermost element of the ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS). The SPD consists of two barrel layers of hybrid silicon pixels surrounding the beam pipe with a total of ≈ 107 pixel cells. The SPD features a very low material budget, a 99.9% efficient bidimensional digital response, a 12 μm spatial precision in the bending plane (r) and a prompt signal as input to the L0 trigger. The SPD commissioning in the ALICE experimental area is well advanced and it includes calibration runs with internal pulse and cosmic ray runs. In this contribution the commissioning of the SPD is reviewed and the first results from runs with cosmic rays and circulating proton beams are presented.

Irradiation and SPS Beam Tests of the Alice1LHCb Pixel Chip

The Alice1LHCb front-end chip [1,2] has been designed for the ALICE pixel and the LHCb RICH detectors. It is fabricated in a commercial 0.25 μm CMOS technology, with special design techniques to obtain radiation tolerance. The chip has been irradiated with low energy protons and heavy ions, to determine the cross-section for Single Event Upsets (SEU), and with X-rays to evaluate the sensitivity to total ionising dose. We report the results of those measurements. We also report preliminary results of measurements done with 150 GeV pions at the CERN SPS.