NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS & METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH. SECTION A, ACCELERATORS, SPECTROMETERS, DETECTORS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
Abstract
The PiXeL detector (PXL) of the STAR experiment at RHIC is the first application of the state-of-the-art thin Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) technology in a collider environment. The PXL, together with the Intermediate Silicon Tracker (IST) and the Silicon Strip Detector (SSD), form the Heavy Flavor Tracker (HFT), which has been designed to improve the vertex resolution and extend the STAR measurement capabilities in the heavy flavor domain, providing a clean probe for studying the Quark–Gluon Plasma.