1. RD51 GEM Telescope: results from June 2010 test beam and work in progress Matteo Alfonsi on behalf of CERN GDD group and Siena/PISA INFN group

2. Outline Overview GEM tracking chambers details Electronics and DAQ Results from June 2010 test beam Synchronizing two different DAQs and other ongoing improvements Conclusions and future plans

3. CERN experimental table  Mechanics with 5 movable supports mounted over rails.  GEM telescope and MICROMEGAS telescope (both with 3 X-Y stations)  Trigger scintillators (triple coincidence)  Table with wheels and possibility to rotate in the “cosmic ray stand” position RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi3

4. Triple GEM tracking chamber  Active area: 10 x 10 cm 2  “COMPASS” X-Y strip readout, with ~ 0.4 mm pitch  Sealed Triple GEM detector with a compact design: −HV divider: only 1 HV channel −Ar/CO 2 70%/30% cheap premix RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 20104M. Alfonsi

5. GEM Tracker characterization RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi5 Rate (Hz/mm 2 ) Gain Cu x-rays ΔE FWHM /E = 19.8% Fe x-rays X-Y strips correlation Rate capabilityGain vs. voltage on the divider

6. Electronics and DAQ VFAT2 front-end electronics Readout board “TURBO” developed by Siena and PISA INFN Some slides from E. Oliveri.. (and a special thank to him for the support in the beam!!) RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi6

7. The readout chip: VFAT2 128 channels Gain 60mV/fC Shaping Tine 22ns LV 1A Latency 6.4  s Stretching up to 8 clock cycles ANALOG AND ASYNCRONOUS DIGITAL AND SYNCRONOUS Amplification and Shaping Comparison with a programmable Threshold Synchronization And Time stretching Data Storage and Transmission FAST OR Trigger output Triggering and tracking synchronous front-end ASIC designed primary for the TOTEM experiment and characterized by: Preamplifier-shaper-comparator readout chains (128) to detect signals above a programmable threshold. Fast-OR lines (up to 8) that merge channels of programmable sectors to provide a trigger signal.

8. TURBO Input/Output LVDS/NIM/CMOS (clk, trigger,…..) QuickUSB DAC Out Turbo Power VFAT2 Digital PowerVFAT2 Analog PowerDCU 8 x VFAT2 TURBOs Chain Control/Data BUS

9. RD51 June TB Set Up USB Trigger/VETO/CLK… 8 VFAT2 Control and Data Acquisition from 24 VFAT2s USB 8 VFAT2

10. TURBO REGISTERS VFAT2 REGISTERS TURBO/VFAT2 CONTROL and DAQ with LabVIEW Calibration Pulse Scan Simple Acquisition etc. etc. etc……

11. Results from the test beam Test beam performed together with CMS MPGD group, which used tracks information for their devices under test. RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi11

12. Test beam setup in June 2010 RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi12 Binary raw data file ROOT raw data (“hits”) ROOT reconstructed data (“clusters” and “tracks”)

13. Raw data “hits” In June tracking chambers were 75% equipped, with: − 2 VFATs on the (vertical) X-strips, i.e. 256 channels over 10 cm − only 1 on the (horizontal) Y-strips, i.e. 128 channels over 5cm. The noise level with fully equipped detectors was in fact higher and, taking into account the beam size, decision was taken to postpone the investigation of the proper grounding and shielding. RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi13

14. Clustering algorithm Neighbouring (with one channel gap maximum) channels belong to the same cluster. Cluster position is the centre of gravity of the included hits RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi14

15. Beam profile RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi15

16. Alignment correction Before tracks reconstruction, alignment is corrected with the correlation plots RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi16 Misalignment (in strip units) between chambers

17. Track reconstruction Few limitations at the moment: – Combinatorial to be implemented (tracks are reconstructed only in the events with one cluster per station) – Tracks are reconstructed separately in the “X” projection and the “Y” projection  Tracks information available around 80% of the events RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi17

18. Spatial resolution Only 3 stations  a preliminary information can obtained from the broadening of the cluster position difference between two stations RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi18 Assuming two identical devices: √(2σ 2 ) = 1.11 × 0.4 mm  σ ~ 300μm (preliminary result!)

19. Future plans Synchronizing two different DAQs Other ongoing work RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi19

20. More DAQs synchronization Very hard to find an universal solution, so we propose a reasonable strategy that could work over a large number of cases:  Each DAQ must be able to VETO the trigger (on the common NIM coincidence unit!!!), for example when it busy or not running  Each DAQ must implement a reliable trigger counter, which can be reset at the beginning of the run  Separate datafiles can be merged again by a proper event builder RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi20

21. Other ongoing work Event builder: new raw data “hits” ROOT file with a “zero suppressed” format (to reduce file size) Generalization of the algorithm for any readout shape (useful for the TOTEM wedge-shaped chamber in August) Clustering algorithm for analog readout (in case of APV chip in October) Track reconstruction improvements All algorithms in a small “software framework” RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi21

22. Conclusion The GEM telescope is a good instrument for RD51 groups that need track information DAQ with digital VFAT2 readout is ready and improvement are ongoing Minimal analysis software is ready and further developments are ongoing A priority for the next test beam is the integration with different DAQs RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi22

23. Backup RD51 Miniweek, July 20th, 2010M. Alfonsi23