Conception et mise au point de l'électronique frontale du détecteur de pied de gerbe (Preshower) de l'expérience CMS

Modern particle physics collider experiments consist of a number of macroscopic modules each consisting of large number of sensors measuring charge deposition from traversing particles. The CMS Preshower detector is designed as a sampling calorimeter producing electromagnetic showers for incident electrons and photons resulting from LHC p-p interactions. The ultimate aim is to provide neutral pion / gamma separation reducing the background to the most promising Higgs channel, SM Higgs to 2 photons. The detector has 4300 silicon sensors each subdivided into 32 channels with a total sensitive area of 16.4 m2. Front-end microelectronics ASICs must measure the charge of each channel accurately with low noise and over a wide dynamic range (4 fC to 1600 fC) at the rate of 40 MHz within a harsh radiation environment. This thesis presents the design and development of the Preshower front-end electronics ASIC development, PACE. The first chapter introduces the Preshower experiment and defines the specification for PACE as derived from the physics. The second chapter examines the radiation environment, its effect on electronic devices, and design techniques / technologies that can resist to LHC radiation levels. Chapters 3 to 5 present the design and results of two PACE developments examining analog memories based on current and voltage sampling techniques. Experimental results from a Preshower electro-mechanical prototype tested in a particle beam are also given.