Analysis of test beam data of ALPIDE, the final Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS) prototype for the ALICE ITS upgrade

The ALICE collaboration is currently preparing a major upgrade of its apparatus, planned for installation during the second long shutdown of the Large Hadron Collider in 2019-20. The main pillar of the upgrade is the replacement of the current Inner Tracking System (ITS) with a new, low-material, high resolution silicon pixel detector, made of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS). This technology, combining front-end circuitry and sensitive layer in a single device, will lead to a higher granularity of the detector and therefore a better pointing resolution. The silicon pixel chips, called ALPIDEs, developed specifically for the new ITS, are currently characterized using test beams. A part of this characterization is presented in this work. The project involves the very first analysis of test beam data with inclined tracks. The tested ALPIDE is rotated with respect to the beam, hence the particles cross the chip with an inclined incidence angle. The influence of these rotations on the efficiency profile, the clustering and the spatial resolution were investigated. Finally, a simulation of the tracking resolution evaluating the material budget is performed and compared to the data.