A control and readout system for the BELLE silicon vertex detector

A newly developed system for the control and readout of the BELLE silicon vertex detector (SVD) is described. The system is designed to meet the mechanical, electrical, and thermal requirements imposed by the BELLE detector. Its primary purpose is the amplification of analog signals from the VA1 front-end integrated circuits, which are used to read the silicon-strip detectors. It also provides a number of analog and digital functions related to the control and monitoring of the SVD. Much of the circuitry is implemented using programmable logic and analog devices, which allow a degree a flexibility in the design. In total, eight crates will be installed to read out the 81 920 strips from the three-layer double-sided silicon-strip detector array. (author)