The ICARUS Front-end Preamplifier Working at Liquid Argon Temperature

We describe characteristics and performance of the low-noise front-end preamplifier used in the ICARUS 50-litre liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber installed in the CERN West Area Neutrino Facility during the 1997-98 neutrino runs. The preamplifiers were designed to work immersed in ultra-pure liquid Argon at a temperature of 87 K. The successful operation of the ICARUS T600 detector at LNGS (1) and the recent growing interest in the potentiality of the LAr-TPC as multi-kton detector for neutrino physics and rare events search, have triggered additional R&D studies to further improve the detector performance with respect to the presently available technologies. In particular the use of low noise front-end electronics working immersed in liquid Argon is under discussion and test in several laboratories. In the present note, a description is given of the solution developed in the late nineties within the ICARUS collaboration, and successfully operated for several years in a 50-litre LAr-TPC. The pre-amplifier design and its performance are discussed in detail.

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