Serial power protection for ATLAS silicon strip staves

Upgrades to the inner tracking detectors at the Super Large Hadron Collider (SLHC) will require more efficient methods of power delivery. Serial power is one architecture that delivers power efficiently by powering a chain of front-end circuits (hybrids) with a common current. A major concern with serial power is the loss of the full hybrid chain due to an open circuit failure of a single hybrid. We propose a method to protect a serial chain of hybrids with emphasis on application to the ATLAS silicon strip upgrade. A prototype protection circuit and its discrete component implementation are described. Results from tests of the protection circuit used with individual “dummy” hybrids and in a system test with a collection of dummy hybrids are given. Finally, a path towards a radiation-hard ASIC implementation is discussed. This work demonstrates that the protection of a serial chain is viable and is not an obstacle to the implementation of serial power.