Large area silicon drift detector for the ALICE experiment

Two hundred and sixty Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs), each with an active area of 7.0 x 7.5 cm(2), will equip two of the six cylindrical layers of high precision position sensitive detectors that constitute the Inner Tracking System (ITS) of the ALICE experiment at LHC. In developing the ALICE SDD, one of the objectives was to work out a robust and redundant design. Unlike the case of silicon microstrip or pixel detectors, a single defect in a SDD may be propagated throughout the whole detector. One of the features of the detector is the original design of the integrated voltage divider that allows to attenuate effectively such a propagation in the most practical cases. Device simulations and laboratory measurements are presented. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.