Electronic chain for the readout of a fast liquid argon prototype calorimeter

Summary form only given. A research and development program is being conducted in view of realizing an electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeter for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The authors report on tests on fast electronics, coupled to an electromagnetic prototype calorimeter built with an accordion structure. Three different types of preamplifiers have been used. In two (Si and GaAs hybrids), the preamplifier is operated in liquid argon. In the third one, a common based (Si JFET or GaAs) transistor is in the liquid, the charge preamplifier being outside the cryostat, after about 6 m of 50- Omega cable. The shaping amplifier uses RC-CR filtering. The response to a short current pulse peaks after about 20 ns. When the system is connected to the calorimeter, the liquid argon signals peak, as expected, after 30 ns. Noise, linearity, and cross-talk between channels were investigated. First results from an exposure of the calorimeter to electrons of energy 30 to 175 GeV were obtained. >