The SDC silicon tracking system

The silicon tracking system is a critical element of the tracking system of the Solenoidal Detector Collaboration's (SDC) experiment to meet the physics requirements at the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC). It will provide full-pattern recognition, vertexing, and stand-alone momentum measurement capabilities complementing the outer tracker. The key component of the system is a double-sided silicon microstrip sensor (DSSS) with fast-readout front-end electronics. The SDC DSSS design addresses problems associated with radiation damage on the surface and in the bulk of the silicon microstrip sensors. The SDC silicon tracking system, being the largest semiconductor tracking detector ever planned, requires a state-of-the-art design of the electromechanical system in order to minimize the dead regions, minimize the radiation length, cool and operate the system at 0 C, and have the mechanical precision necessary to match the spatial resolution of the microstrip sensors. The silicon ladders, shells, space frames, and butane evaporative cooling system are achieving the requirements imposed by the goals of the SDC experiment. (orig.)