A detector-emulation method for realistic readout-electronics tests. A case study of VMM3a ASIC for sTGC detector. (1st February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Moleri, L.; Lupu, N.; Vdovin, A.; Kajomovitz, E.
• Is Part Of: Journal of instrumentation. Volume 17:Number 2(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-02-01
• Subjects: Analogue electronic circuits -- Detector modelling and simulations II (electric fields, charge transport, multiplication and induction, pulse formation, electron emission, etc) -- Front-end electronics for detector readout -- Gaseous detectors; Scientific apparatus and instruments -- Periodicals; 502.84
• DOI: 10.1088/1748-0221/17/02/P02037
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1748-0221

Abstract

Abstract: We present a detector-emulation method for developing, optimizing, and testing front-end electronics for particle detectors under realistic experimental conditions. The method is capable of reproducing bipolar signals shape and amplitude, rates, pileup, and radiation backgrounds. By controlling the different components of the experimental environment, the method allows for the assessment of their individual and combined effects, which is difficult to achieve in test beam or experiment environment. The technique emulates the output current of AC coupled detector terminals for an experimental environment of interest, by combining a sequence of recorded or simulated signal waveforms. Voltage waveforms produced with off the shelf arbitrary waveform generators are converted to current by a simple circuit, which also accounts for the characteristic capacitance of the detector, and injected into the front-end electronics. We demonstrate the technique by applying it in the optimization and characterization of the front-end electronics of the sTGC detector for the ATLAS experiment.