An integrated microstrip detector for fast counting of minimum ionizing particles

A new two-dimensional high counting rate detector is proposed based on strip geometry, preamplifying NMOS transistors, and resistive charge division. The simulations show a good noise performance even for relatively short shaping times and device dimensions of the order of 1 cm. This is due to signal preamplification through transistors integrated along the strips. Each strip is segmented to pixels that serve as wells for the fabrication of NMOS transistors. Upon collection of the ionization charge, the respective transistor is switched on and its current is read after being split by charge division to provide two-dimensional information. Such a detector is almost free from double-hit ambiguities and can handle high particle hit rates.