Design and performance of the ABCD chip for the binary readout of silicon strip detectors in the ATLAS semiconductor tracker

The ABCD design is a single chip implementation of the binary readout architecture for silicon strip detectors in the ATLAS semiconductor tracker. The prototype chip has been manufactured successfully in the DMILL process. In the paper we present the design of the chip and the measurement results. The basic analogue performance of the ABCD design has been evaluated using a prototype SCT module equipped with the ABCD chips. The digital performance has been evaluated using a general purpose IC tester. The measurements confirmed that all blocks of the ABCD design are fully functional and the chips meet all basic requirements of the SCT. Wafer screening has been performed using a customised wafer tester.