The LS Schaile hardware-group is currently working on research and development of Micromegas and GEM micro pattern gaseous detectors,
small diameter (15 mm) drift-tube detectors and position sensitive scintillating detectors with SiPM (silicon photomultiplier) readout.
Driven by the requirements of the ATLAS muon spectrometer we are focussing currently on Micromegas detectors, high-resolution, high-rate-capable
micromesh based micro pattern gaseous detectors. They are able to measure muon tracks very precisely, even in high rate environments,
and are foreseen for the upgrade of the Small Wheel part of the ATLAS muon spectrometer.
ATLAS is the largest of the detectors at the proton collider LHC at CERN close to Geneva.
The experiment has been operated very successfully during the last years and together with the
CMS experiment a Higgs-boson has been
discovered. Currently the LHC is being upgraded for the next data taking period, starting end of 2014. The Small Wheel of the ATLAS muon spectrometer
will be replaced in 2018 by modern technology. Micromegas detectors are foreseen as replacement of the monitored drift-tube (MDT) and
cathode strip (CSC) detectors.
For the present ATLAS muon spectrometer, LMU Munich has commissioned and calibrated 88 BOS MDT chambers (Barrel Outer Small). These chambers are sitting
on the outer rim of the cylindrical part of ATLAS and are not subject to replacement. In general, the muon spectrometer consists of three layers of drift
and trigger chambers, that have been built in collaborations of institutes all over the world.
The LMU Munich Cosmic Ray Facility (CRF) was used to thoroughly test and calibrate the
BOS chambers after commissioning in the anteroom. The CRF is foreseen in near future for calibration of large Micromegas detectors, square meters in size.
