The ATLAS level-1 central trigger system

The central part of the ATLAS Level-1 trigger system consists of the central trigger processor (CTP), the local trigger processors (LTPs), the timing, trigger, and control (TTC) system, and the read-out driver busy (ROD/spl I.bar/BUSY) modules. The CTP combines information from calorimeter and muon trigger processors, as well as from other sources, and makes the final Level-1 accept decision (L1A) on the basis of lists of selection criteria, implemented as trigger menus. Timing and trigger signals are fanned out to about 40 LTPs, which inject them into the subdetector TTC partitions. The LTPs also support stand-alone running and can generate all necessary signals from memory. The TTC partitions fan out the timing and trigger signals to the subdetector front-end electronics. The ROD/spl I.bar/BUSY modules receive busy signals from the front-end electronics, and send them to the CTP (via an LTP) to throttle the generation of L1As. An overview of the ATLAS Level-1 central trigger system will be presented, with emphasis on the design and tests of the CTP modules.