A system for multiplexed chip readout of double-sided silicon detectors

For the ANKE spectrometer at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY-Julich, a vertex detector is under development. Double-sided structured silicon-strip detectors with a thickness from 65 /spl mu/m to 5500 /spl mu/m are used in a telescope-like structure. They allow the /spl Delta/E/E-identification of low energy spectator protons and therefore the use of deuterium as an effective neutron target. As frontend chip the VA32TA2 has been selected. They are connected to both sides of the detector. Because half of them, together with their readout electronics, needs to be operated at the bias voltage of the detectors (10-1000 V), a special system for multiplexed chip readout has been developed. It provides two ADCs per detector, one per each side, and allows for the configuration of all analog voltages by DACs and control timings by programmable sequence generators.