Introduction
The Groupe Technologique is an electronics workshop that supports scientific research at U. de Montréal, in Canada and the world. It has lots of experience designing custom electronic modules, data-acquisition systems and mechanical aspects of an experiment. It has a strong expertise in firmware and software coding.
People
- Jean-Pierre Martin (head of GT, PhD Physics):
- High-speed/low noise analogue electronics (applied to various types of detectors/sensors). Digital electronics with FPGA devices. Firmware designs (Xilinx and Intel-Altera devices). Embedded Trigger/DAQ systems design (Xilinx Vivado/Vitis and Altera Quartus platforms)
- Nikolai Starinsky (PhD Engineering-Physics):
- Chen Wen Chao (PhD Physics):
- Cyril Drancourt, Electronics Engineer (MSc Engineering):
- Electronic System conception, CAD design, LabVIEW design, VHDL design, tests, on-site installation.
- Hongfei Cao (MSc Engineering):
Equipments
The GT is equipped with various workstations with the software needed for the design of electronic modules associated with detector readout. The GT possesses specialized equipment to instrument and test detectors, such as semi-clean assembly areas, trigger systems (cosmics, lasers), power supplies, source/detector positioning devices using X-Y tables, and dedicated readout and diagnostic instrumentation. The GT also uses instruments and tools for the construction and debugging of prototypes of fine pitch and high component density that use surface mount technology.
Examples of Current and Recent Past Projects
- ATLAS ITk Tracker Upgrade: The GT is responsible for the overall design and the construction of several modules of the interlock system of the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) upgrade. The GT is also involved in testing the ITk front-end electronics and in the ITk grounding and shielding group.
- Beam monitoring for the BELLE-II experiment: The GT co-designed and installed LYSO scintillator detectors to monitor the SuperKEKB beams after injection in the main ring. The GT was responsible to build and design a custom electronics module to read out these detectors, including the high-voltage power supplies and an FPGA-based data acquisition system.
- DUNE Experiment: The GT is involved in developing the firmware of the timing of the DUNE experiment, as well as developing the software of the DUNE Data-Filter system.
- Computed tomography (CT) scan development: The GT supports a local research program on the emerging applications of spectral computed tomography (CT) through its software expertise.
- Electronic nanobiosensors: The GT has developed low-noise amplifiers for arrays of field-effect transistor (FET) sensors based on carbon nanomaterials to be used for the measurement of bioanalytics & biochemical mechanisms at the molecular level.
- PICO experiment: The GT is involved in several aspects of the PICO dark matter experiment, such as its monitoring software.
- Project X17 aims to verify the the so-called X-17 anomaly. The GT has designed and built the wire chamber electronics, preamp boards, mechanical structure and beam setup of the experiment.
