Evaluation of AC-coupled silicon microstrip detectors and Berkeley SVXD readout with 227 GeV/c pions

Single-sided and double-sided AC-coupled Si microstrip detectors read out with Berkeley SVX version D VLSI chips have been tested in a 227-GeV/c charged pion beam at Fermilab. Pulse height information, cluster size, and spatial resolution have been studied as functions of incident beam angle. It was found that the experimental spatial resolution agrees with Monte Carlo predictions and that the average pulse height and cluster size increase accordingly with increasing angle of particle incidence from the normal. The results of the beam tests are presented in detail. >