Monolithic active pixel sensors for a linear collider

A novel technique for detecting minimum ionising particles (i.e. m.i.p.) wa s designed and a first prototype fabricated in a standard CMOS technology, guided by very high vertex detector performances required in future collide r experiments. The device architecture resembles CMOS cameras, a recent alt ernative to CCD sensors for visible light imaging. The performance of the f irst prototype was evaluated with high energy pi (-) beams at CERN. Prelimi nary test results demonstrate that the sensors detect m.i.p.s with very hig h efficiency and signal-to-noise ratio and provide excellent surface resolu tion., (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.