An amplifier-discriminator chip for the GLAST silicon-strip tracker

An amplifier-discriminator circuit has been designed for reading data from the silicon-strip detectors of the Gamma Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). For the 38 pF expected detector loading, an equivalent noise charge (ENC) of 1600 electrons has been demonstrated on a 32-channel chip with a power consumption of under 150 /spl mu/W per channel and a 1 /spl mu/S time constant. The typical rms threshold variation was under 750 electrons ENC. These results satisfy the requirements of the GLAST mission.