Abstract: The ATLAS experiment is a general purpose detector aiming to fully exploit the discovery potential of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. It is foreseen that after several years of successful data-taking, the LHC physics programme will be extended in the so-called High-Luminosity LHC, where the instantaneous luminosity will be increased up to 5 x 10(34) cm(-2) s(-1). For ATLAS, an upgrade scenario will imply the complete replacement of its internal tracker, as the existing detector will not provide the required performance due to the cumulated radiation damage and the increase in the detector occupancy. The current baseline layout for the new ATLAS tracker is an all-silicon-based detector, with pixel sensors in the inner layers and silicon micro-strip detectors at intermediate and outer radii. The super-module is an integration concept proposed for the strip region of the future ATLAS tracker, where double-sided stereo silicon micro-strip modules are assembled into a low-mass local support structure. An electrical super-module prototype for eight double-sided strip modules has been constructed. The aim is to exercise the multi-module readout chain and to investigate the noise performance of such a system. In this paper, the main components of the current super-module prototype are described and its electrical performance is presented in detail.

Abstract: A novel technique to identify and split clusters created by multiple charged particles in the ATLAS pixel detector using a set of artificial neural networks is presented. Such merged clusters are a common feature of tracks originating from highly energetic objects, such as jets. Neural networks are trained using Monte Carlo samples produced with a detailed detector simulation. This technique replaces the former clustering approach based on a connected component analysis and charge interpolation. The performance of the neural network splitting technique is quantified using data from proton-proton collisions at the LHC collected by the ATLAS detector in 2011 and from Monte Carlo simulations. This technique reduces the number of clusters shared between tracks in highly energetic jets by up to a factor of three. It also provides more precise position and error estimates of the clusters in both the transverse and longitudinal impact parameter resolution.

Abstract: In 2004 at the ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) combined test beam, one slice of the ATLAS barrel detector (including an Inner Detector set-up and the Liquid Argon calorimeter) was exposed to particles from the H8 SPS beam line at CERN. It was the first occasion to test the combined electron performance of ATLAS. This paper presents results obtained for the momentum measurement p with the Inner Detector and for the performance of the electron measurement with the LAr calorimeter (energy E linearity and resolution) in the presence of a magnetic field in the Inner Detector for momenta ranging from 20 GeV/c to 100 GeV/c. Furthermore the particle identification capabilities of the Transition Radiation Tracker, Bremsstrahlungs-recovery algorithms relying on the LAr calorimeter and results obtained for the E/p ratio and a way how to extract scale parameters will be discussed.

Abstract: A technical description of NEXT-MM and its commissioning and first performance is reported. Having an active volume of similar to 35 cm drift x 28 cm diameter, it constitutes the largest Micromegas-read TPC operated in Xenon ever constructed, made by a sectorial arrangement of the 4 largest single wafers manufactured with the Microbulk technique to date. It is equipped with a suitably pixelized readout and with a sufficiently large sensitive volume (similar to 23 l) so as to contain long (similar to 20 cm) electron tracks. First results obtained at 1 bar for Xenon and Trymethylamine (Xe-(2%) TMA) mixture are presented. The TPC can accurately reconstruct extended background tracks. An encouraging full-width half-maximum of 11.6% was obtained for similar to 29 keV gammas without resorting to any data post-processing.

Abstract: A telescope for a beam test have been developed as a result of a collaboration among the University of Liverpool, Centro Nacional de Microelectronica (CNM) of Barcelona and Instituto de Fisica Corpuscular (IFIC) of Valencia. This system is intended to carry out both analogue charge collection and spatial resolution measurements with different types of microstrip or pixel silicon detectors in a beam test environment. The telescope has four XY measurement as well as trigger planes (XYT board) and it can accommodate up to twelve devices under test (DUT board). The DUT board uses two Beetle ASICs for the readout of chilled silicon detectors. The board could operate in a self-triggering mode. The board features a temperature sensor and it can be mounted on a rotary stage. A peltier element is used for cooling the DUT. Each XYT board measures the track space points using two silicon strip detectors connected to two Beetle ASICs. It can also trigger on the particle tracks in the beam test. The board includes a CPLD which allows for the synchronization of the trigger signal to a common clock frequency, delaying and implementing coincidence with other XYT boards. An Alibava mother board is used to read out and to control each XYT/DUT board from a common trigger signal and a common clock signal. The Alibava board has a TDC on board to have a time stamp of each trigger. The data collected by each Alibava board is sent to a master card by means of a local data/address bus following a custom digital protocol. The master board distributes the trigger, clock and reset signals. It also merges the data streams from up to sixteen Alibava boards. The board has also a test channel for testing in a standard mode a XYT or DUT board. This board is implemented with a Xilinx development board and a custom patch board. The master board is connected with the DAQ software via 100M Ethernet. Track based alignment software has also been developed for the data obtained with the DAQ software.