Description

The Educational Alibava System is a complete instrumentation system dedicated to Silicon Microstrip Radiation Detectors, representing the state-of-the-art in detector characterization.

It is based on the Alibava System largely used within the CERN community to test microstrip detectors for particle and nuclear physics experiments.

The system can be configured to work with laser light or radioactive sources.

The set-up is ideal for making basic or complex experiments with silicon microstrip detectors similar to the ones performed in the actual research field, in facilities like CERN (LHC), DESY, FERMILAB, Synchrotrons, etc.

This simple electronic equipment establishes the basis for an affordable and complete set of student laboratory experiments.
 

Control Unit

The Control Unit controls the Sensor Unit that communicates with the PC software.

• Xilinx device retained with support chipset
• Plug and play.
• Interface with Detector board via 34 IDC connector.
• Incorporates all control, powering for Sensor Unit.
• USB 2.0 interface.
• HV module to supply the detector bias.
• Dimensions: 169x52x120 mm3 (WxHxD)

The Mother Board is intended to process and digitize the analogue data that comes from the analogue readout chips. It also processes the trigger input signal of the diode in case of radioactive source setup or it generates an output trigger signal if a laser setup is used. Moreover, it controls the whole system and it communicates with the PC software via USB 2.0 interface, using an FPGA with an embedded processor and custom logic. The Mother Board also generates the power for the Sensor Unit.

Sensor Unit

The Sensor Unit accommodates one readout ASICs chip, providing 128 analogue input channels with a 40 MHz clocked analogue pipeline (maximum programmable latency of 4 μs).

• The trigger signal is generated on the same Unit.
• Dimension: 82x32x120 mm3 (WxHxD)

Microstrip Silicon Detector

P-on-N silicon microstrip, polysilicon biasing resistors, AC coupled.
 

 

• 128 channels with pitch 160 µm.
• Thickness: 300 µm.
• VFD < 60 V.
• IL (@VFD) < 10 nA/strip.
• Other thicknesses and pitch are available on demand.

Laser Source

Laser diode 0.5 mW

• Wavelength: 980 nm.
• 5 ns Pulses width.
• Optical fiber output.