Development of radhard VLSI electronics for SSC calorimeters

A new program of development of integrated electronics for liquid argon calorimeters in the SSC detector environment is being started at Argonne National Laboratory. Scientists from Brookhaven National Laboratory and Vanderbilt University together with an industrial participant are expected to collaborate in this work. Interaction rates, segmentation, and the radiation environment dictate that front-end electronics of SSC calorimeters must be implemented in the form of highly integrated, radhard, analog, low-noise, VLSI custom monolithic devices. Important considerations are power dissipation, choice of functions integrated on the front-end chips, and cabling requirements. An extensive level of expertise in radhard electronics exists within the industrial community, and a primary objective of this work is to bring that expertise to bear on the problems of SSC detector design. Radiation hardness measurements and requirements as well as calorimeter design will be primarily the responsibility of Argonne scientists and their Brookhaven and Vanderbilt colleagues. Radhard VLSI design and fabrication will be primarily the industrial participants responsibility. The rapid-cycling synchrotron at Argonne will be used for radiation damage studies involving response to neutrons and charged particles, while damage from gammas will be investigated at Brookhaven. 10 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs