ATLAS silicon microstrip tracker: operation and performance

Abstract

The Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) is a silicon strip detector and one of the key precision tracking devices in the Inner Detector of the ATLAS experiment at CERN LHC. The completed SCT has been installed inside the ATLAS experimental cavern since 2007 and has been operational since then. Calibration data has been taken regularly and analyzed to determine the performance of the system. In this paper the current status of the SCT is reviewed, including results from data-taking periods in 2010 and 2011. We report on the operation of the detector including overviews on services, connectivity and observed problems. The main emphasis is given to the performance of the SCT with the LHC in collision mode and to the performance of individual electronic components.