SPICE analysis of signal propagation in Si microstrip detectors

The main DC and AC characteristics of AC-coupled polysilicon-biased silicon microstrip detectors have been measured in order to determine the set of SPICE parameters of these devices based on a RC network. For this purpose each strip has been divided in 200 unit cells and simulations with 5 and 9 strips have been performed. The model is capable of calculating the interstrip and coupling impedance and phase angle in good agreement with experimental results up to a frequency of 1 MHz. The electrical propagation of a current signal simulating the charge pulse of a ionising particle along the strips has been studied. The role of the input characteristics of the read-out electronics on the detector output signals has been addressed. The signal propagation has been studied also for anomalous working conditions of the detector, such as a strip with a break in the Al film, or disconnected from the read-out electronics. >