To comply with the increase in luminosity of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) in the next decades, the electronics of the ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) experiment is being upgraded. Included in the upgrade is the interfacing and control electronics system of the HVOpto/HVRemote cards in the TileCal (Tile Calorimeter) detector, which provides high voltages to about 104 photomultipliers (PMTs). This paper presents the new interfacing architecture for the system and details the design of a prototype control board (HVRemote-Ctrl) used for test and validation of the new architecture. The tests evaluate the system multiplexing capabilities needed to monitor all the TileCal PMTs in real time. The communication channels involved, supported in Ethernet and SPI interfaces/protocols, have been fully tested. Some results from the tests already completed are presented.

To comply with the increase in luminosity of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) in the next decades, the electronics of the ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) experiment is being upgraded. Included in the upgrade is the interfacing and control electronics system of the HVOpto/HVRemote cards in the TileCal (Tile Calorimeter) detector, which provides high voltages to about 104 photomultipliers (PMTs). This paper presents the new interfacing architecture for the system and details the design of a prototype control board (HVRemote-Ctrl) used for test and validation of the new architecture. The tests evaluate the system multiplexing capabilities needed to monitor all the TileCal PMTs in real time. The communication channels involved, supported in Ethernet and SPI interfaces/protocols, have been fully tested. Some results from the tests already completed are presented.

A new external LED/fiber light injection calibration system was designed for the calibration and monitoring of the photomultiplier array of the SNO+ experiment at SNOLAB. The goal of the calibration system is to allow an accurate and regular measurement of the photomultiplier array's performance, while minimizing the risk of radioactivity ingress. The choice in SNO+ was to use a set of optical fiber cables to convey into the detector the light pulses produced by external LEDs. The quality control was carried out using a modified test bench that was used in QC of optical fibers for TileCal/ATLAS. The optical fibers were characterized for transmission, timing and angular dispersions. This article describes the setups used for the characterization and quality control of the system based on LEDs and optical fibers and their results.

A light injection system using LEDs and optical fibres was designed for the calibration and monitoring of the photomultiplier array of the SNO+ experiment at SNOLAB. Large volume, non-segmented, low-background detectors for rare event physics, such as the multi-purpose SNO+ experiment, need a calibration system that allow an accurate and regular measurement of the performance parameters of their photomultiplier arrays, while minimising the risk of radioactivity ingress. The design implemented for SNO+ uses a set of optical fibres to inject light pulses from external LEDs into the detector. The design, fabrication and installation of this light injection system, as well as the first commissioning tests, are described in this paper. Monte Carlo simulations were compared with the commissioning test results, confirming that the system meets the performance requirements.

The ATLAS Roman Pot system is designed to determine the total proton-proton cross section as well as the luminosity at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by measuring elastic proton scattering at very small angles. The system is made of four Roman Pot stations, located in the LHC tunnel in a distance of about 240 m at both sides of the ATLAS interaction point. Each station is equipped with tracking detectors, inserted in Roman Pots which approach the LHC beams vertically. The tracking detectors consist of multi-layer scintillating fibre structures read out by Multi-Anode-Photo-Multipliers.

The ATLAS Roman Pot system is designed to determine the total proton-proton cross section as well as the luminosity at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by measuring elastic proton scattering at very small angles. The system is made of four Roman Pot stations, located in the LHC tunnel in a distance of about 240 m at both sides of the ATLAS interaction point. Each station is equipped with tracking detectors, inserted in Roman Pots which approach the LHC beams vertically. The tracking detectors consist of multi-layer scintillating fibre structures read out by Multi-Anode-Photo-Multipliers.