Design and construction of double-sided silicon ladders for the L3 microvertex detector

Abstract The techniques used in the construction of the double-sided ladders for the L3 Silicon Microvertex Detector (SMD) are presented. The detector consists of two cylindrical layers, each of 12 ladders, with double-sided silicon detectors which provide r -phi and z coordinates measurements. This description includes ladder mechanical design and the assembly. A novel solution to readout the z -coordinates is presented. It optimizes very effectively the removal of heat generated by the readout electronics and minimizes the radiation length in the central region. Some results from the survey of the individual ladders are also discussed.