arXiv subjects

Tiesheng Dai

Publications and source records attributed to Tiesheng Dai.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Surface Commissioning and Performance of the sMDT Muon Chambers for the ATLAS HL-LHC Upgrade

To improve the first-level muon trigger efficiency at the HL-LHC, the Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) chambers in the inner small sectors of the ATLAS Barrel Muon Spectrometer will be replaced with integrated modules of small-Diameter Muon Drift Tube (sMDT) and Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs). This paper reports on the surface commissioning of 102 new sMDT chambers at CERN in 2025 following the installation of the final front-end electronics, including the new Amplifier-Shaper-Discriminator (ASD), Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) chips, and Chamber Service Module (CSM) developed for the HL-LHC. The commissioning included measurements of gas leak rates and high-voltage dark currents, tests of the integrated planarity monitoring system, noise characterization, and measurements of detector efficiency and spatial resolution using cosmic rays. Fewer than 0.1\% of the 49152 tubes were found to be non-functional due to broken sense wires or gas leaks. The chambers exceed the ATLAS design requirements, with gas leak rates a factor of five below the specified limit of $9.3\times 10^{-3}~\mathrm{mbar\cdot liter/s}$ per chamber, dark currents of only around 0.2~nA per tube, average channel noise hit rates below 30~Hz, and average drift tube efficiency and spatial resolution of 99\% and $82~μ\mathrm{m}$, respectively, at an effective threshold of 15 primary electrons.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2026

A 24-Channel Ultra-Low-Noise Preamplifier for dN/dx Measurements with Drift Tube Detectors

Cluster counting dN/dx is a promising method to enhance particle identification for gaseous detectors, especially in next-generation collider experiments like the FCC-ee, where good pion-kaon separation over a broad momentum range is essential. However, its implementation in large-scale systems has been limited by the challenging requirements for high-resolution signal amplification and readout. This paper presents a 24-channel ultra-low-noise preamplifier board designed for drift tube detectors to enable dN/dx measurements. The three-stage amplification topology employs SiGe transistors and integrates dedicated noise-minimization techniques, achieving a charge gain of 21.11 mV/fC from 0.3 fC to 50 fC, a bandwidth of 542 MHz, and a voltage gain of 47.8 dB. The measured voltage noise density is 0.35 nV/sqrt(Hz), surpassing most of the state-of-the-art preamplifiers for gaseous and silicon detectors. Validation tests conducted on the sMDT chambers at the CERN Proton Synchrotron test beam facility demonstrate that the proposed design meets the stringent preamplifier requirements for implementing the dN/dx method in drift-tube detector systems, achieving an equivalent noise charge of 0.14 fC and a signal-to-noise ratio of 73 when operated with a He:iC4H10 (90:10) gas mixture. The design also shows promise for broader application in other gaseous or semiconductor detectors.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2026

Performance Evaluation of Straw Tubes with Muon Beams at CERN

We present results from two test beam campaigns that investigate the performance of straw tube detectors as potential candidates for an FCC-ee straw tracker. These studies were carried out at CERN using 150 GeV muon beams. Dedicated algorithms were developed to determine both single tube spatial resolution for the primary coordinate in the $r-ϕ$ plane and spatial resolution for the secondary coordinate along the tube direction within a straw chamber. Detection efficiency was also evaluated as a function of the extrapolated hit position for each tube. Both datasets showed consistent results for spatial resolutions and efficiency. Our findings will help establish benchmark performance metrics and provide valuable insight for future design, optimization, and construction of straw chambers for high-precision tracking applications.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2026

ATLAS MDT TDC Simulations for LHC Run3 and HL-LHC

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) started the Run 3 operation in 2022, and the peak instantaneous luminosity in Run 3 may reach 3 x 10^34 cm-2s-1. The ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) chambers are the main component of the precision tracking system in the ATLAS muon spectrometer. It is important to understand any potential issues with the MDT Front-End (FE) readout electronics for an expected level-1 (L1) trigger rate of 100 kHz and a complex deadtime of over 5% for Run 3 operations. We use raw data collected in 2022 to emulate the expected hit rates in MDT chambers and perform a realistic simulation on the ATLAS Muon TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) (AMT) chip with the current configuration. We study the AMT chip performances by analyzing the trigger/L1/readout buffer occupancies and hit loss fractions under different luminosities with L1 rate of 100 kHz by using the Modelsim software. The hit loss fraction of the hottest MDT chamber (BIL3C05) is lower than 5% due to FE readout, even at a luminosity of 5.01 x 10^34 cm-2s-1 with a deadtime of 5% and a L1 rate of 100 kHz, indicating that AMT can operate under Run 3 conditions without problems. The MDT trigger and readout electronics will be replaced for triggerless readout during High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) runs. We also simulate the AMT behavior in the triggerless mode up to 7.44 x 10^34 cm-2s-1 and propose possible AMT configurations in case some FE electronics could not be replaced during the long shutdown 3 (LS3).

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Design of a Time-to-Digital Converter ASIC and a mini-DAQ system for the Phase-2 Upgrade of the ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube detector

We present the second prototype of a time-to-digital (TDC) ASIC for the upgrade of the ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) detector for High-Luminosity LHC operations. Compared to the first prototype, triple modular redundancy has been implemented for the configuration and flow control logic. The total power consumption is increased by less than 10 mW while achieving the same time resolution and channel uniformity. A mini-DAQ system has been built to verify the front-end electronics chain with the new prototype together with other ASICs and boards in triggered mode. Cosmic ray tests with a small-diameter MDT chamber indicate that the configuration and data transmission of the readout electronics perform well. It is expected that this prototype design will be used in the final production.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Design and performance of a TDC ASIC for the upgrade of the ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube detector

We present the prototype of a time-to-digital (TDC) ASIC for the upgrade of the ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) detector for high-luminosity LHC operation. This ASIC is based on a previously submitted demonstrator ASIC designed for timing performance evaluation, and includes all features necessary for the various operation modes, as well as the migration to the TSMC 130 nm CMOS technology. We present the TDC design with the emphasis on added features and performance optimization. Tests of the timing performance demonstrate that this ASIC meets the design specifications. The TDC has a bin size of about 780 ps, and a timing bin variations within 40 ps for all 24 channels with leading and trailing edge digitization, while the power consumption has been limited to 250 mW, corresponding to a consumption of about 5.2 mW per edge measurement.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

Development of a time-to-digital converter ASIC for the upgrade of the ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube detector

The upgrade of the ATLAS muon spectrometer for high-luminosity LHC requires new trigger and readout electronics for the various elements of the detector. We present the design of a time-to-digital converter (TDC) ASIC prototype for the ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube (MDT) detector. The chip was fabricated in a GlobalFoundries 130 nm CMOS technology. Studies indicate that its timing and power consumption characteristics meet the design specifications, with a timing bin variation of 40 ps for all 48 channels with a power consumption of about 6.5 mW per channel.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

FPGA Implementation of a Fixed Latency Scheme in a Signal Packet Router for the Upgrade of ATLAS Forward Muon Trigger Electronics

We propose a new fixed latency scheme for Xilinx gigabit transceivers that will be used in the upgrade of the ATLAS forward muon spectrometer at the Large Hadron Collider. The fixed latency scheme is implemented in a 4.8 Gbps link between a frontend data serializer ASIC and a packet router. To achieve fixed latency, we use IO delay and dedicated carry in resources in a Xilinx FPGA, while minimally relying on the embedded features of the FPGA transceivers. The scheme is protocol independent and can be adapted to FPGA from other vendors with similar resources. This paper presents a detailed implementation of the fixed latency scheme, as well as simulations of the real environment in the ATLAS forward muon region.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2015

Characterization of a Serializer ASIC chip for the upgrade of the ATLAS muon detector

We report on the design of a serializer ASIC to be used in the ATLAS forward muon detector for trigger data transmission. We discuss the performance of a prototype chip covering power dissipation, latency and stable operating line rate. Tests show that the serializer is capable of running at least at 5.76 Gbps with a bit error ratio below 1x10^{-15}, and a power consumption of 200 mW running at 4.8 Gbps. The latency between the start of loading 30 bits into the serializer to the transmission of the first bit from the serializer is measured to be about 6 ns.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2012

Development of a plasma panel radiation detector: recent progress and key issues

A radiation detector based on plasma display panel technology, which is the principal component of plasma television displays is presented. Plasma Panel Sensor (PPS) technology is a variant of micropattern gas radiation detectors. The PPS is conceived as an array of sealed plasma discharge gas cells which can be used for fast response (O(5ns) per pixel), high spatial resolution detection (pixel pitch can be less than 100 micrometer) of ionizing and minimum ionizing particles. The PPS is assembled from non-reactive, intrinsically radiation-hard materials: glass substrates, metal electrodes and inert gas mixtures. We report on the PPS development program, including simulations and design and the first laboratory studies which demonstrate the usage of plasma display panels in measurements of cosmic ray muons, as well as the expansion of experimental results on the detection of betas from radioactive sources.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2010

Progress in the Development of Plasma Panel Radiation Detectors

Plasma Display Panels (PDP), the underlying engine of panel plasma television displays, are being investigated for their utility as radiation detectors called Plasma Panel Sensors (PPS). The PPS a novel variant of a micropattern radiation detector, is intended to be a fast, high resolution detector comprised of an array of plasma discharge cells operating in a hermetically sealed gas mixture. We report on the PPS development effort, including recent laboratory measurements.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2008

A Multivariate Training Technique with Event Reweighting

An event reweighting technique incorporated in multivariate training algorithm has been developed and tested using the Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Boosted Decision Trees (BDT). The event reweighting training are compared to that of the conventional equal event weighting based on the ANN and the BDT performance. The comparison is performed in the context of the physics analysis of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will explore the fundamental nature of matter and the basic forces that shape our universe. We demonstrate that the event reweighting technique provides an unbiased method of multivariate training for event pattern recognition.

physics.data-an↗