MADHAT: A Sensor Prototype for the ALICE 3 Outer Tracker

Abstract

The ALICE collaboration plans a completely new tracking detector based on silicon MAPS technology manufactured in the 65 nm production node as part of the ALICE~3 upgrade during Long Shutdown 4 of the LHC. The size of the whole active area is planned to be 50 m$^2$, with the Outer Tracker spanning 45 m$^2$. To reach the material budget target of less than 1% $X_0$ per layer, open questions like cooling solutions, mechanical structures and electronics have to be answered. A simple sensor prototype MADHAT (Mechanical Assessment Design for Heat And Thermal solutions), mechanically identical to the final sensor, but with integrated heating elements and temperature probes, was developed to study the temperature distribution in the final detector assembly and to assess different mechanical designs of the circuit board that houses the sensor. Furthermore, it will be used to practice the industrialization of the whole mass-production, including the assembly of FPCs with external companies. In this paper, we present the design of the MADHAT, a prototype readout module and show the results of first measurements.