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Welcome

Welcome to the documentation and guide on the VMM3a front-end inside the RD51 Scalable Readout System (SRS).

This guide evolves continuously, as the readout system itself evolves continuously. It will provide you with the information on hardware, firmware and software related to VMM3a/SRS. It can happen that not all information are directly saved on this webpage, but that you will be linked to other webpages or repositories, where you will then find the information you are looking for.

In case you are looking for published references, please finde them as follows:

Articles on VMM3a/SRS (please cite at least one of them, in the case you are using VMM3a/SRS)

[1] L. Scharenberg et al., Development of a high-rate scalable readout system for gaseous detectors, Journal of Instrumentation 17 (2022) C12014. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/17/12/C12014

[2] D. Pfeiffer et al., Rate-capability of the VMM3a front-end in the RD51 Scalable Readout System, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 1031 (2022) 166548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2022.166548

[3] M. Lupberger et al., Implementation of the VMM ASIC in the Scalable Readout System, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 903 (2018) 91-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2018.06.046

Detailed information on the full structure of VMM3a/SRS, its working principle, the calibration and optimisation procedures, as well as example measurements and performance studies

[4] L. Scharenberg, Next-Generation Electronics for the Read-Out of Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors, PhD Thesis, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (2022), CERN-THESIS-2022-360. https://cds.cern.ch/record/2860765/

Articles and information on the VMM3a ASIC itself

[5] G. de Geronimo et al., The VMM3a ASIC, IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science 69 (2022) 976-985. https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2022.3155818

[6] G. Iakovidis, The VMM3a User Guide, ATL-MUON-PUB-2022-002 (2022). https://cds.cern.ch/record/2807691

Tutorial videos on the VMM3a/SRS operation

Two tutorial videos on the VMM3a/SRS operation exist. One recorded during the RD51 Collaboration Meeting in 2021 and another one recorded during the RD51 Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors School in 2023. The video from 2021 contains legacy software versions and is not fully up to date anymore. The video from 2023 is combined with a general introductory lecture on the SRS electronics.

[7] L. Scharenberg, SRS/VMM3a - Documentation and software-operation overview, RD51 Collaboration Meeting and Topical Workshop "Wide Dynamic Range Operation of MPGDs" (2021). https://indico.cern.ch/event/1071632/contributions/4615369/

[8] M. Lupberger, RD51 Scalable Readout System - Demonstration, RD51 Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors School (2023). https://indico.cern.ch/event/1239595/contributions/5418456/

Collaborative effort

As the readout system and all its related components, including this documentation, are a collaborative effort, you are invited to also participate in the collaborative activities. For this please have a look at the VMM3a/SRS related meetings within the RD51 Working Group 5.1 and the community forum:

Authors of this guide

Lucian Scharenberg, Dorothea Pfeiffer, Hans Muller
with contributions from Karl Flöthner, Gerardo Romero, Tassos Belias, Daichi Nagasaki, Clement Risso and Marco Sessa

Acknowledgements

  • This work has been sponsored by the Wolfgang Gentner Programme of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant no. 13E18CHA).
  • This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101004761.
  • The work has been supported by the CERN Strategic Programme on Technologies for Future Experiments (https://ep-rnd.web.cern.ch/).